A Look Back at 2025
Regular Season: 5-7 (2-6)
Notable:
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Kentucky was difficult to gauge last season, blowing out Florida and taking Texas to overtime, but also getting routed by Vanderbilt and Louisville.
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The Wildcats finished with the nation’s 85th-ranked offense.
What Changed This Offseason
Key Departures:
QB: Cutter Boley (Transfer)
RB: Seth McGowan (NFL), Dante Dowdell (Transfer)
WR: Kendrick Law (NFL)
OL: Entire unit
DL: Steven Soles Jr. (Transfer), Jerod Smith II (Transfer), Landyn Watson (Transfer)
DB: Quaysheed Scott (Transfer), Cam Dooley (Transfer)
HC: Mark Stoops - 13 years 82-80 record all-time winningest coach in Kentucky history
Key Additions:
QB: Kenny Minchey (Notre Dame)
RB: CJ Baxter (Texas)
WR: Nic Anderson (LSU)
OL: Coleton Price (Baylor), Tegra Tshabola (Ohio State), Lance Heard (Tennessee)
DL: Jamarrion Harkless (Purdue)
LB: Antonio O’Berry (Gardner Webb)
DB: Hasaan Sykes (Western Carolina), Jordan Castell (Florida)
Fourteen of Kentucky’s 31 transfers came from SEC programs, with additional additions from Ohio State and Notre Dame. More than half of the Wildcats’ incoming transfers arrived from major Power Four schools.
Coaching Changes:
Head Coach: Will Stein arrives at Kentucky after serving as Oregon’s offensive coordinator since 2023. He is known for his “Feed the Studs” offensive philosophy, which emphasizes involving multiple playmakers. Stein also coached NFL quarterbacks Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel during his time with the Ducks. This will be his first opportunity as a head coach.
Offensive Coordinator: Joe Sloan was previously LSU’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, credited with helping Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels.
Defensive Coordinator: Jay Bateman comes to Kentucky after spending last season as Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator. He brings more than 20 years of experience coaching on the defensive side of the ball.
Breaking Down The Offense
Starting O Line:
Key Returners:
TE: Willie Rodriguez
Strength: Offensive Line
Their portal additions along the offensive line were significant. Three projected starters bring at least two years of experience from major programs. Between Tshabola, Price, and Heard, the group combines for 85 starts and 108 career games played, giving Kentucky one of the more experienced offensive lines in the country. If that unit stays healthy, it could become the foundation of the team’s consistency.
Biggest Question: Health and production at skill positions
Several key wide receivers and running backs missed the spring game. Regardless of the severity of those injuries, having that many absences this early raises some concern. On top of that, many of Kentucky’s offensive additions arrive without showing much at the college level. At this point, there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding what this offense will look like.
Breaking Down The Defense
Key Returners:
DL: Tavion Gadson, Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace
DB: Ty Bryant (All-SEC)
Strength: Bryant and Humphrey-Grace
With little returning production, these two stand out among the SEC’s top defensive talents. Bryant earned All-SEC honors last year and was Kentucky’s lone All-SEC selection. Humphrey-Grace won Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2024 and led the team in sacks last season. Together, they give Kentucky high-end playmaking on the defensive side through Bryant’s coverage skills and Humphrey-Grace’s pass-rushing presence.
Biggest Question: Can this defense be even mediocre?
Ironically, Kentucky’s defense was actually solid in 2025. The Wildcats finished above average in several major categories and, at times, kept the team competitive despite inconsistent offensive play.
But this group looks different.
Kentucky has a new defensive coordinator and a roster loaded with transfers. And many of these additions simply have not played much football at this tier. On top of that, only two real contributors return, leaving a massive gap.
There may be talent here, but I have some serious concerns about this unit.
X-Factor: Coaching
For UK to be anything more than a four-win team, Stein needs to be the offensive guru many believe him to be. If he can maximize the young quarterback, get results from the new skill players, and quickly establish a functional scheme, the Wildcats should at least keep most games close.
Defensively, Jay Bateman has a much tougher challenge. Kentucky brought in a large number of transfers, but many arrive without much experience. If the Wildcats can even field a middle-of-the-pack SEC defense in Bateman’s first season, that alone could keep them fighting throughout the year.
The other major question is how this roster handles adversity. Kentucky brought in a large number of transfers and younger players, and the SEC schedule leaves very little margin for error. If the Wildcats get off to a rough start, the coaching staff will need to keep the team focused and bought in.
Schedule Breakdown
Win total: 4.5 Over (-148) Under (+120)
Most likely wins: vs. Youngstown St., vs. South Alabama.
These games are on the schedule for a reason. The last thing Kentucky needs is to drop an easy one.
Toughest stretch: @ South Carolina, vs. LSU, @ Oklahoma
Oklahoma and LSU are obvious, with both expected to rank among the SEC’s top teams.
South Carolina lands here because of both timing and location. The road matchup arrives at a critical point, and where the Wildcats stand after that game should say a lot about how the rest of the year unfolds.
Potential Swing Games: vs. Alabama, @ Texas A&M, vs. Louisville.
Bama and A&M sandwiched between UK’s two easier nonconference games create a fascinating stretch early. If the Wildcats can somehow steal one against the Tide or Aggies, they would likely sit at 3-1 through the first month and already be within striking distance of the win total over. Throw rival Louisville into the equation later in the year, and finding two wins across those marquee matchups would put Kentucky in a nice position to clear the bar.
Final Outlook
My outlook on Kentucky is pretty straightforward. Will the coaching staff be ready in Year 1, and how quickly will everything translate to the field? This is almost an entirely new roster paired with a new staff and a new quarterback. That is a difficult combination in the SEC. Still, good coaching can cover up a lot of flaws. If Will Stein can successfully bring Oregon’s offensive concepts to Kentucky, the Wildcats have a chance to raise eyebrows.
The ceiling for this team is one of the hardest to project because there is so little proven production at the skill positions offensively, while several defensive additions are stepping into major roles for the first time. There also is not much top-end talent returning from last season’s roster. Based on the information available right now, 8-4 feels like the ceiling. Kentucky still has to navigate games against LSU, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Alabama. It would be surprising to see the Wildcats finish better than 2-2 in that stretch.
The floor feels much lower. A two- or three-win campaign is absolutely on the table, and that would not automatically mean Will Stein is a failure. First-year head coaches often endure growing pains, especially in a conference as unforgiving as the SEC.
So what do I think actually happens? Kentucky’s offense should be good enough to keep the team in plenty of games and potentially win a few shootouts. Stein’s system will likely feature a wide rotation of skill players, which should create matchup problems for defenses. The offensive line also projects as one of the better groups in the conference when healthy, giving Kentucky a chance to establish balance offensively.
The defense is where the uncertainty lies. A new coordinator combined with so many new faces on that side of the ball creates a lot of volatility. There are simply too many unanswered questions defensively to fully trust this team against SEC competition right now.
The offense alone should be enough to get Kentucky to at least five wins. Anything beyond fringe bowl contention probably depends on the defense outperforming expectations.
Prediction: 5-7 (Over 4.5 wins)
Up Next: LSU
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