Good morning, dear friends and readers of KentuckySportsRadio.com. I hope you enjoyed your Easter weekend. If you were too busy to keep up with the wide world of Kentucky sports, don’t sweat it. The Monday rundown is here for you to get caught up on the top headlines around Big Blue Nation.
We’ll lead off with Kentucky winning its first baseball series in Knoxville in nine seasons because beating Tennessee is sweeter than all of the Easter candy in your basket.
Kentucky Baseball took down the second-ranked Vols in Knoxville
Kentucky Baseball (22-15, 8-10) spoiled the Easter weekend fun in Knoxville, beating the No. 2 Tennessee Vols in two of three games to win the road series for the first time since 2016. After losing Friday’s game 2-8, Kentucky came back to win 4-1 on Saturday, then ran up the score on Easter Sunday, winning 8-2 to claim the series.
On Sunday, sophomore LHP Ben Cleaver allowed only a two-run homer on the scoreboard in seven innings pitched before Kentucky’s batters blew the score wide open with three runs in the eighth and another two in the ninth. Senior RHP Simon Gregersen closed it out on the mound with two scoreless innings as the Wildcats held one of the best offenses in college baseball to only three runs across two wins to clinch the series with back-to-back victories. Eat it, Vols.
[Late surge sends Kentucky past No. 4 Tennessee 8-2, earning series victory]
Kentucky hosts Louisville at KPP tomorrow night
Nick Mingione’s Wildcats have the chance to beat another rival when the Louisville Cardinals come to Kentucky Proud Park on Tuesday. Louisville won the first meeting in 10 innings back on April 8. Tomorrow, Kentucky hosts the Battle of the Bluegrass rematch at 6:30 p.m. in Lexington. Beat Louisville.
Former Wildcats in the NBA Playoffs
The weekend marked the start of the NBA Playoffs, with all Game 1s played across Saturday and Sunday. Three of the four Sunday games were chalk, with one former Wildcat’s team falling behind with a home loss to a No. 7 seed.
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s Oklahoma City Thunder demolished the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of the West’s 1 vs. 8 series. The former Wildcat took it easy, scoring 15 points in only 23 minutes played in a 51-point win, the largest margin of victory in the first game of an NBA Playoff series. Cason Wallace helped pile on the Grizz with this steal-and-slam early in the game.
— Reed Sheppard‘s first playoff game didn’t go well in Houston. The No. 2 seed Rockets lost to Golden State 95-85 in Game 1 of the West’s 2 vs. 7 series. Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler combined for 56 points in the win, while Sheppard recorded a DNP on Houston’s bench. The Warriors look dangerous.
— A couple of former Wildcats combined for 45 points to lead Miami in Game 1 in Cleveland, but the Heat still needed more against the East’s No. 1 seed. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo now face a 0-1 hole against the Cavs after losing 121-100 on Sunday. Miami made the field by winning the play-in tournament from tenth place in the East.
— In the only playoff series without a former Wildcat, Boston beat Orlando 103-86 to go up 1-0 in the East’s 2 vs. 7 matchup.
Tonight’s NBA Playoff schedule
Tonight, there are two Game 2s on the NBA’s viewing schedule, each featuring a former Wildcat playing to go up 2-0 in their respective series.
— First, Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks host Detroit in Game 2 in Madison Square Garden. The Knicks won Game 1 on Saturday, led by KAT’s 23 and 11 double-double and a team-high 34 points from Jalen Brunson. New York is a 6.5-point favorite in Game 2. Watch it at 7:30 p.m. on TNT.
— In the second game of the doubleheader, Jamal Murray‘s Denver Nuggets host the L.A. Clippers in Game 2 of the West’s 4 vs. 5 series. Game 1 needed overtime on Saturday, when the Nuggets took the series’ early lead with a 112-110 win. Murray had 21 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Tonight, the Nuggets are a 1.5-point home underdog in Game 2. Watch on TNT at 10:00 p.m.
Kentucky Football added a new running back
While you and I celebrated Easter Sunday, Kentucky Football was busy adding to its backfield. Seth McGowan is the latest post-spring practice transfer portal addition. McGowan left New Mexico State for Lexington, where he will join his old teammate and lead blocker, left tackle Shiyazh Pete, who also played in Las Cruces last season.
McGowan rushed for 823 yards (5.4 ypc) and three touchdowns in his sophomore season at New Mexico State. Prior to New Mexico State, McGowan missed two seasons with off-the-field troubles after a freshman season at Oklahoma with 370 yards and three touchdowns. At 6-1, 220, the Texas native adds depth and explosive running to Kentucky’s running back room. He can catch passes, too. He had 13 receptions for another 277 yards and three more touchdowns in 2024.
[Seth McGowan, Former New Mexico State and Oklahoma Running Back, Transfers to Kentucky]
Keeping up with college basketball’s transfer portal before it closes
KSR is monitoring two portals at once as players move around college football and college basketball. Kentucky Basketball remains active in the latter, seeking to add more backcourt depth to complete the 2025-26 roster. Here’s the basketball portal news you might’ve missed on Easter weekend before it closes tomorrow.
— New name to watch: Florida’s Denzel Aberdeen emerged as a target for the Wildcats. Aberdeen backed up Walter Clayton and Alijah Martin for the national champ Gators, and there is internet buzz that he is looking toward Lexington as an option for his senior season. Aberdeen played 19.7 minutes per game last year, scoring 7.7 points while shooting 35.0% from 3 in his junior season in Gainesville.
— The former Kansas Jayhawk, Rylan Griffen, is scheduled to visit Lexington tomorrow. Griffen’s production took a hit in his junior season, playing for that mess of a team that Bill Self put together. Before his one year as a Jayhawk, Griffen played two years at Alabama. He averaged 11.2 points, shooting 39.2% from 3 and 45.4% from the field in his sophomore season for Nate Oats. Kentucky is in good standing heading into Griffen’s visit.
— Andrej Stojakovic is still available, although Illinois and Duke are reportedly at the top of his list.
— A couple of familiar portal names found new college basketball homes on Sunday. Alvaro Folgueiras, once considered a target at forward at Kentucky, committed to Iowa. Also, Treysen Eaglestaff landed at West Virginia after his bizarre two-week commitment to South Carolina.
— The Cracker Barrel in Middlesboro couldn’t help Rick Barnes land Elyjah Freeman from nearby Lincoln Memorial. Freeman committed to Auburn over the weekend. However, Tennessee will be OK after landing one-time Kentucky target Nate Ament from the 2025 high school class. Ament made his decision after a long recruitment that saw several presumed leaders throughout the process, including Kentucky, Louisville, and Arkansas. Now, he’s a Vol.
UK Softball plays Game 3 at South Carolina tonight
Kentucky Softball‘s series at No. 12 South Carolina is still ongoing, with Game 3 scheduled for tonight at 7:00 p.m. in Columbia. The Gamecocks already clinched the series with a 14-1 win in five innings on Saturday and a 1-0 win on Sunday. Still, Kentucky can add a seventh conference win to its record if the Wildcats (27-19, 6-11) can win the third game in the series. You can watch from home on SEC Network.
Louisville’s own Justin Thomas won his first tournament since the 2022 PGA
The PGA TOUR’s RBC Heritage came down to a playoff in Hilton Head, where Kentuckian Justin Thomas sank a 21-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Andrew Novak. Novak left the door open by missing an eight-footer on 18 to win his first PGA event, then Thomas made him pay with a clutch putt in sudden death.
WHAT A WAY TO WIN IT!
Justin Thomas with the putt to claim victory at the @RBC_Heritage
pic.twitter.com/JSaofLwsur
— Golf on CBS
(@GolfonCBS) April 20, 2025
Thomas was emotional after snapping his three-year drought, saying, “I didn’t realize how much I missed winning.” He’s in second in the FedEx Cup standings behind Rory McIlroy and ahead of Scottie Scheffler.
Matt Jones returns to KSR
Today on KSR’s morning radio program, Matt Jones returns after more than two weeks away. The show will broadcast live from 10:00 a.m. to noon with the entire crew from the Lexington studio. You can catch the show at KSBar and Grille on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Go Cats.
The post KSR Today: Portal tracking, Cats in the Playoffs, ruining Tennessee’s Easter, and more appeared first on On3.