Good morning, KSR readers, and happy Tuesday. Today is Tax Day here in the United States, and if I’m the first person to remind you of that, the good news is you’ve still got some hours to put your paperwork together (UPDATE: Apparently, you’ve got several more months, as Kentucky’s deadline was extended to Nov. 3 due to the severe weather that impacted the state in recent weeks). Isn’t being an adult fun?
Thankfully, we have some actual fun things on tap for you today. Lamar Wilkerson’s decision may come at any time, a Kentucky Women’s Basketball star is now a member of the WNBA, some former Men’s Basketball stars are in action in the NBA play-in tournament, and both the Kentucky Baseball and Softball teams host midweek games. There’s also a big roster announcement coming for La Familia, Kentucky’s alumni team in the TBT.
Let’s start with the subject everyone is talking about this morning.
The latest on Lamar Wilkerson
Monday came and went without a commitment from Lamar Wilkerson, but that may not be the case for long. Last night, Jack Pilgrim reported that the Sam Houston State transfer guard is down to Kentucky and Indiana, canceling his visits to Auburn and Ole Miss. The 6’5″ rising senior is returning home to Ashdown, Arkansas, to mull his options after memorable trips to Bloomington and Lexington.
By now, you’ve seen the pictures of Wilkerson and Mark Pope in the winner’s circle at Keeneland on Sunday. As you can tell, the visit went very well. Over on KSBoard, Jack shared more details on it after speaking to his sources. Jacob Polacheck also spoke to Wilkerson’s high school coach James Smith to break down his game and the transition from Sam Houston State to a Power Five program. Even though Wilkerson will likely get a pretty penny through NIL, Smith said he’ll come to campus hungry to prove himself.
“I told him, ‘If you can play in the SEC or Big Ten, then you can have a nice career in the NBA or overseas. You need to prove to yourself that you can play at this next level. You have to prove a point to yourself,’” Smith told KSR+. “He bet on himself that he could take care of his business. He’s going to be a good teammate for somebody.”
We’ve got our ears to the ground, waiting for the next boom. KSBoard has been going nonstop throughout roster-building season, but the wait for Wilkerson may bring things to a fever pitch.
There were a few other pieces of transfer portal news on Monday. Jacksonville State guard Jaron Pierre Jr. committed to SMU, and Kentucky reportedly reached out to UNC wing Cade Tyson. This isn’t the first time the Cats have been linked to Tyson, who also heard from John Calipari’s staff last off-season when he entered the transfer portal after two years at Belmont, but the extent of Kentucky’s interest this go-around is unknown. For now, we’re all just waiting for a Boom.
Reminder: Transfer Portal opens for Football tomorrow
I hope you’re not tired of transfer portal news yet because tomorrow, the portal opens for football players. From tomorrow through April 25, underclassmen will have one more opportunity to switch teams ahead of the 2025 season. Kentucky needs some attrition to get down to 85 scholarship players.
On Monday, we found out about two departing Cats as offensive lineman Daniel Mincey and defensive lineman Kendrick Gilbert announced their plans to enter the portal. More will follow.
ICYMI, Georgia Amoore went No. 6 in the WNBA Draft
It was a big Monday night for Georgia Amoore, who was selected No. 6 in the WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics. The Aussie native is now the eighth player in Kentucky Women’s Basketball history to be selected in the WNBA Draft and the first since Rhyne Howard was selected No. 1 in 2022. She joins four other Cats – Howard, Evelyn Akhator, A’dia Mathies, and Victoria Dunlap – in program history to be picked in the first round. Amoore joins a rebuilding Washington roster that went 14-26 last season and lost two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne to retirement.
Amoore was in New York City for the draft, a night made even cooler by her collaboration with Russell Westbrook. The former NBA MVP, who has his own fashion label, Honor the Gift, designed Amoore’s outfit for the event and walked the orange carpet with her. The two detailed the partnership for Vogue (as part of it, Amoore gave Westbrook one of her Kentucky jerseys). It was one of the highlights of a very cool night.
Kentucky Baseball hosts Miami
After a tough series loss vs. No. 2 Texas, the Kentucky Baseball team gets a break from conference play. Tonight, the Bat Cats host Miami (Ohio) at Kentucky Proud Park. The Redhawks may not be ranked like some of Kentucky’s recent foes (this is the Cats’ lone contest against a non-Top 12 team in a stretch of 11 games), but the Cats needed a late rally last year to beat Miami. The RedHawks are 19-16 this season, coming off a series win at Kent State. Kentucky is now 19-14, 6-9 in SEC play. This weekend, the Cats head to Tennessee, which is now No. 2 in the polls.
First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. If you can’t make it to Kentucky Proud Park, you can watch live on the SEC Network.
Kentucky Softball hosts Western Kentucky
The Kentucky softball team had Saturday and Sunday off after sweeping a doubleheader at Boston University on Friday. Today, they’ll host in-state foe Western Kentucky at John Cropp Stadium. Rachel Lawson’s squad is 26-17 this season, 6-9 in conference play. This weekend, they hit the road again for a series at South Carolina, so taking care of business at home vs. the Hilltoppers is paramount.
First pitch is set for 6 p.m. ET, and the game will stream on SEC Network+. Or you can go to John Cropp Stadium and see what the “Holiday Game” is all about:
Join us Tuesday night at 6pm ET for our holiday game at JCS, #BBN!
There’s nobody that celebrates holidays like we do
pic.twitter.com/q7UgudBCkn
— Kentucky Softball (@UKsoftball) April 14, 2025
NBA Play-In Tournament begins
The 2024-25 NBA regular season is over. The NBA Playoffs don’t begin until Saturday, but four more teams could clinch a spot through the SoFi Play-In Tournament, which starts today and runs through Friday. Now in its fourth year, the play-in tournament expands the playoffs to 20 teams. The top six teams from each conference are automatically qualified for the playoffs, while the Nos. 7-10 seeds square off in the play-in tournament to join them.
Four spots are up for grabs. There are two games tonight, and both feature former Cats. First, Jacob Toppin and the Atlanta Hawks take on the Orlando Magic. Toppin had 17 points in the Hawks’ win over Orlando on Sunday. That’s followed by the Memphis Grizzlies vs. Kevin Knox’s Golden State Warriors. Tomorrow night, some marquee names will take the floor to fight for a playoff spot. Here’s the schedule:
Eastern Conference
- Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. (TNT): No. 8 Atlanta Hawks (Jacob Toppin) at No. 7 Orlando Magic
- Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN): No. 10 Miami Heat (Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro) at No. 9 Chicago Bulls
- Friday, Time TBD (TNT): Winner 9/10 vs. loser 7/8
Western Conference
- Tuesday, 10 p.m. (TNT): No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies at No. 7 Golden State Warriors (Kevin Knox)
- Wednesday, 10 p.m. (ESPN): No. 10 Dallas Mavericks (Anthony Davis, PJ Washington) at No. 9 Sacramento Kings (Malik Monk, Trey Lyles)
- Friday, Time TBD (ESPN): Winner 9/10 vs. loser 7/8
Big La Familia TBT roster announcement
TBT is running it back to Lexington this summer with La Familia, Kentucky’s alumni team, serving as the regional host. Today, we’ll find out another member of the squad. Monday’s social media tease had BBN guessing all afternoon, with fans poring over old pictures in hopes of identifying the player’s silhouette. Is it John Wall? DeAndre Liggins? Doron Lamb? Just a standard stock image? We’ll find out soon enough.
La Familia is adding a new name to the squad—and trust us, this one’s going to turn heads.
— LaFamilia – Kentucky’s TBT Team (@LaFamiliaTBT) April 14, 2025
Whoever it is will join Willie Cauley-Stein and more soon-to-be-announced former Cats on the roster in hopes of securing the 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all prize. The Lexington Regional takes place July 18-23 at Historic Memorial Coliseum.
Busy day, so let’s get to it.
The post KSR Today: Lamar Wilkerson Watch, Kentucky Baseball, Big La Familia TBT Announcement appeared first on On3.