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No. 9 Seeded Kentucky Secures 30-Point Win in First Round of the SEC Tournament

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Tyler Ruth | UK Athletics

On Wednesday, March 4, No. 9 seeded Kentucky (22-9, 8-8 SEC) ended the No. 16 seeded Arkansas Razorbacks’ season (12-20, 1-15 SEC), winning 94-64 in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

Fresh off of a close loss to No. 3 South Carolina, the Wildcats headed into this matchup confident under the leadership of Kenny Brooks and as heavy favorites.

Arkansas, on the other hand, needed a miracle to keep its season alive, officially placing last in conference rankings and having to deal with one of the best teams in the league.

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To start things out, Asia Boone would get two shots to go from deep, surpassing Kentucky legend Rhyne Howard for the most 3-point field goals in a single season. Shortly followed by an and one by Jordan Obi, the Wildcats jumped out to a 16-4 lead in just five minutes of play.

Amelia Hassett would then spark a couple of threes, spilling the dominant lead into the next quarter. Up 17 with the second installment of 10 minutes halfway over, Boone and Hassett had combined for five threes.

In the final moments before halftime, Arkansas would show some fight, cutting the lead down to nine before the break.

Unlike another basketball team on campus, the Wildcats knew that no lead was safe, and would proceed to go on a 20-5 run in the first six minutes of the third quarter.

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Ironically, as the lead increased little by little, Hassett would continue to drain shots from deep and would actually surpass Boone’s record from earlier, becoming the new program record holder for threes just an hour later.

Handling business as expected, Kentucky won by 30 points. Hassett finished with 18 points, all from three-point land, and Clara Strack did her usual, finishing with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

As a team, the Wildcats made nearly half of their shots and held the Razorbacks to just 36% from the field, forcing 12 turnovers.

Up next, the Wildcats will face No. 8 Georgia (22-8, 8-8 SEC) on Thursday, March 5 in the second round of the conference tournament. The Bulldogs defeated Kentucky earlier in the season by five at Historic Memorial Coliseum, but you know what they say, it’s hard to beat a team twice.

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Tip off is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. ET and will be streamed live from the SEC Network.

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Kentucky Women’s Basketball Announces SEC Schedule For 2026-27 Season

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Photo via UK Athletics

The clock of the offseason keeps on moving. As we tick closer and closer to the return of college basketball, we can at least get some early hype brewing for the conference foes!

On Tuesday, Aug. 11, Kentucky Women’s Basketball revealed an official SEC schedule for the 2026-27 season with dates and locations. We already knew who the team’s opponents would be, but now we have even more of those fun details.

The team revealed the schedule by playing a fun game of “Heads Up” this morning. If yelling “SOONER” at the top of your lungs was an award, Gabby Brooks takes home the award.

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Year three of the Kenny Brooks era is slated to be challenging, but this roster he assembled may be his best yet. Brooks and his team will play eight games on the road this year and host another eight at Historic Memorial Coliseum, with Tennessee being the only opponent that Kentucky will face off against twice.

Sitting at a confirmed 28 games, the Big Blue Nation should expect a couple more non-conference matchups added to the schedule before it is finalized.

Below is the entire conference schedule with date and matchup. TV and tipoff assignments have not yet been announced.

OPPONENT DATE
@ FloridaThursday, Dec. 31
vs. Auburn Sunday, Jan. 3
@ MissouriThursday, Jan. 7
vs. TexasSunday, Jan. 10
vs. ArkansasThursday, Jan. 14
vs. Tennessee Thursday, Jan. 21
@ Oklahoma Sunday, Jan. 24
vs. Alabama Thursday, Jan. 28
@ South Carolina Sunday, Jan. 31
vs. LSU Thursday, Feb. 4
@ GeorgiaSunday, Feb. 7
@ Ole MissThursday, Feb. 11
vs. Vanderbilt Monday, Feb. 15
@ TennesseeSunday, Feb. 21
@ Texas A&MThursday, Feb. 25
vs. Mississippi StateSunday, Feb. 28

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Kentucky Deputy AD Marc Hill Accepts New Role at BYU

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Photo via UK Athletics

Kentucky’s athletics department continues to evolve as the faces we’ve seen for decades depart from the Wildcats and take on other opportunities.

On Tuesday, Aug. 11, it was announced that deputy AD Marc Hill was hired to BYU’s executive team under athletic director Brian Santiago. Reported first by Pete Thamel, Hill will be taking on a new role after 27 years at the University of Kentucky.

Among his various positions over the years, Hill worked with former head coach Mark Stoops as a top admin for over a decade with Kentucky Football. He was promoted to deputy athletics director back in 2019, serving essentially as Mitch Barnhart’s No. 2.

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Now that the J Batt era is fully underway in Lexington, the landscape within the upper administration has a whole new look to it.

A statement from BYU’s athletics department and Santiago:

“BYU Director of Athletics Brian Santiago has announced the addition of longtime Kentucky Athletics administrator Marc Hill to the BYU Athletics senior leadership team.

Hill will serve as a deputy athletic director at BYU, overseeing various administrative and operational efforts within BYU Athletics.

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‘We are excited to add Marc to our executive team,’ Santiago said. ‘He brings a wealth of experience from the highest level of collegiate athletics that will elevate our entire athletic department. He is a great fit and will help us as we continue to chase greatness the BYU way. We look forward to welcoming the Hills to our BYU athletic family.’

Hill comes to BYU with 27 years of experience at the University of Kentucky. After serving nine years as executive associate athletics director, he was named deputy director of athletics in 2019 and served as the athletic director’s right-hand man. He also served as the sport administrator for Kentucky football.”

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Q & A With Kentucky Baseball Commit Kale Hammer

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Photo via Seattle University Athletics

Kentucky Baseball has built a culture that’s unbreakable, even through the thick and thin of a roller coaster season. The Bat Cats have appeared in four straight NCAA Tournaments, have fans pack out ballparks no matter the location and are never out of a ballgame.

Kale Hammer, a Seattle University left-handed pitcher, recently transferred to Kentucky on Wednesday, June 10. He started in 13 games in the 2026 season, going 2-4 with a 5.79 ERA. He tallied 61 strikeouts through 70.0 innings pitched as well.

Hammer sat down for an interview with myself as part of KY Insider, highlighting the culture, his transfer decision and how important he will be in the Wildcats’ bullpen next season.

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Q: What influenced your decision to transfer away and what stood out to you about Kentucky? Was it as simple as playing at a SEC school with more opportunities or was it more complex than that?

“What stood out to me about Kentucky is the coaching staff and how they are as human beings, they truly are great people and want to make their players better at every aspect of life. SEC was a big part but I felt like I connected with the Kentucky coaching staff very well and they were exactly what I was looking for.”

Q: What do you think the most impressive part of your game is? Are you focused in big moments, strikeout heavy, etc.?

“I believe the best part of my game is my ability to keep an even demeanor on the mound in any situation, I think I have a great ability to locate multiple pitches around the zone and be clutch in big moments.”

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Q: What’s your best leadership qualities? I think, and I speak for the fanbase, but the team is in need of a guy to lead the bullpen and consistently put out during the season and postseason.

“I’m a quarterback at heart, so I think when it comes to my leadership qualities I just want to lead by example. When energy is low always making sure to get it back up and everyone rally’s off of everyone.”

Q: How do you feel about the fanbase so far? I know you’ve only had a short glimpse of it, but have you had any interactions yet?

“It honestly doesn’t feel real yet to me, the amount of support I’ve already gotten within a few hours is incredible and I think that alone speaks for how awesome of a fanbase Kentucky has.”

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Q: What’s your personal goals for this upcoming season? You can be as specific as you want to be, and even include team aspirations as well.

“I definitely want to earn a big role on the staff, I believe I can help the team win but the most important thing to me is just that we win. I want to help bring Kentucky to Omaha next year and win the national title.”

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