Good morning, folks! It’s NFL Draft Day here at the KSR headquarters. Well, the first of three NFL Draft Days, that is. 257 total picks will be made across the three-day event. How many Kentucky Wildcats will be included in that 257? It could be as many as four, headlined by a potential first-round selection for DB Maxwell Hairston.
Tonight’s schedule only includes the first round of picks. The draft begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. But you don’t want to watch the same boring ole draft broadcast ESPN replicates every single year. No, you want the KSR broadcast of Nick Roush and Adam Luckett nerding out while on their 13th cup of coffee. The 11 Personnel crew will go live on the KSR YouTube tonight to discuss every aspect of the draft.
They’ll be hoping to talk about some Wildcats along the way. Hairston (who was hanging out with Randall Cobb yesterday) might hear his name called in the first round, but he could just as easily slip into the second round. We’ll also be waiting to see where the likes of DL Deone Walker (projected in Rounds 3-4), OL Eli Cox (Round 6), and LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson (Rounds 6-7) all land over the next few days. NFL Draft coverage on Friday starts at 7:00 p.m. ET with Saturday coverage beginning at noon ET.
[Luckett’s Ultimate 2025 NFL Draft Guide]
Now let’s dive into the rest of this morning’s news and notes.
Brandon Garrison joins the KSR Radio Show
A special guest is making a surprise offseason appearance on the KSR Radio Show this morning. Rising junior center Brandon Garrison will join Matt Jones and the crew to talk about his first season in Lexington, his decision to return to UK, his thoughts on the state of the roster, and much more.
You’ll want to tune into this one; Garrison has a fun personality and is always with a smile on his face. The 6-foot-11 big man expects to be an important piece of the roster next season as one of the few players coming back from 2024-25. He averaged 5.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 17.3 minutes per outing as a sophomore while shooting 50.9 percent from the field.
KSR’s 1-on-1 with Kenny Brooks
Coming off his first season as head coach of Kentucky women’s basketball, Kenny Brooks is having to reload his roster going into year two. Replacing Georgia Amoore and Dazia Lawrence was never going to be an easy task, but Brooks has brought in a handful of transfers already and expects to have back two key pieces from last season who missed the year due to injury.
The 2025-26 roster is still a work in progress, but Brooks took a quick break earlier this week to sit down with KSR’s Phoenix Stevens for an exclusive one-on-one interview. The conversation revolved around Brooks’ first season at UK, his expectations for next season’s team, and plenty more. This is a must-watch for all members of the Big Blue Nation.
An updated look at the Kentucky MBB roster
Travis Perry is heading out. He’s the second Wildcat from last season to leave via the portal (Kerr Kriisa to Cincinnati). That puts Mark Pope back at 12 roster spots for the 2025-26 season. Is he done cooking in the portal? Or is there another move or two to be made?
Here’s an updated look at who’s on the team as of late April. At this point, the only real decision we’ll be waiting on (other than possible additions) is the news of whether or not Otega Oweh will pull his name out of the NBA Draft pool. The deadline to do so is May 28.
Pope hitting the recruiting trail
Pope might be putting the finishing touches on next season’s roster, but recruiting never stops in this big, wide world of hoops. He and the rest of his coaching staff were traveling across the country on Wednesday to meet with a handful of top 2026 high school recruits.
Up first, Pope and assistant coaches Jason Hart and Cody Fueger made an in-home visit with four-star PG Tay Kinney (No. 17 overall), who is a native of the Bluegrass. Later in the day, that same trio popped over to see five-star SG Caleb Holt (No. 4). Meanwhile, out in Texas, associate head coach Alvin Brooks stopped in to visit four-star wing Austin Goosby (No. 27).
For even more info on which high school recruits the Kentucky staff is going after, head on over to KSR+ where Jacob Polacheck has the scoop.
Herro, Adebayo go down 0-2
A couple of Kentucky alums are just two games away from going on summer vacation. Miami Heat stars Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo couldn’t get the job done against the Cavaliers, losing Game 2, 121-112, in Cleveland to go down 0-2 in the series. Game 2 was much more competitive down the stretch than Game 1, with Herro popping off for 33 points and Adebayo going for 11 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists. But Donovan Mitchell took over in the fourth quarter to lead the top-seeded Cavs to the victory.
And hey! Reed Sheppard made his NBA Playoffs debut last night! It came in garbage time as his Houston Rockets were trouncing the Golden State Warriors, but Sheppard still got in the game for the final two minutes. That series is now tied 1-1 as it heads out to The Bay for Games 3 and 4.
Tonight in the NBA Playoffs
| TIME/TV | MATCHUP | SERIES |
| 7:00 PM ET (TNT) | (3) Knicks (Towns) @ (6) Pistons | Tied 1-1 |
| 9:30 PM ET (TNT) | (1) Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Wallace) @ (8) Grizzlies | OKC leads 2-0 |
| 10:00 PM ET (NBA TV) | (4) Nuggets (Murray) @ (5) Clippers | Tied 1-1 |
The post KSR Today: NFL Draft, Brandon Garrison, and Kenny Brooks appeared first on On3.