In a shocking, late at night turn of events, four-star freshman Acaden Lewis has decommitted from Kentucky.

Lewis, a 6’3” point guard out of Washington, D.C. first committed to the blue and white in November of last year, following an in-person visit with Mark Pope in his hometown.

Since then, he’s made multiple appearances in Rupp Arena, been featured in photo shoots with his fellow incoming recruits, and spoken on multiple occasions about his excitement to join the team for the 2025-26’ season.

To say this development is surprising would be a serious understatement.

Lewis released a statement following the announcement, “This was an incredibly difficult decision, but I have to do what’s best for my future,” he said. “Thank you to Coach Pope and the whole Kentucky staff for all they’ve done for me so far.”

While the loss of Lewis is certainly disappointing, there is still much to look forward to next season for Kentucky, who maintain one of the highest rated transfer classes in the nation – and it likely isn’t finished.

To that point, if any reason can be derived immediately for Lewis’ decommitment, it may be found in the same place that Mark Pope and staff will be going to look for answers: the transfer portal.

Two days into the week and two booms for the Kentucky Wildcats as Jayden Quaintance announced his commitment to Kentucky on Tuesday morning.

If the Quaintance name sounds familiar, it should. He was originally committed to play for the Cats out of high school last season as a five-star recruit. While he was interested in staying at Kentucky following John Calipari’s departure, even meeting with Mark Pope, he elected to play for Arizona State.

In his one season with the Sun Devils, Quaintance averaged 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 2.6 BPG, and earned Big 12 All-Freshman and All-Defensive honors.

The one concern for Quaintance is that he had surgery to repair a torn ACL, which could keep him out for the entire offseason and potentially into the season. That said, the expectation for a return is September, and at just 17 years old, there is so much untapped potential.

Get to know the newest Wildcat commit!

Mark Pope has officially landed his third transfer commitment for the 2025-26′ season in the form of junior forward Mouhamed Dioubate.

The commitment was announced on X (Twitter) by Dioubate himself, along with a graphic and a blue and white heart:

Dioubate, who spent the last two seasons playing for Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide, entered the portal less than a week before his commitment to Kentucky. Coach Pope and staff clearly had a circle around his name from day one.

The 6’7″ forward averaged seven points, six rebounds, and a block, steal and an assist per game in his sophomore season, scoring with an incredibly efficient 62%/46% shooting split. His three-point percentage, the latter of the two, rose an astronomical 37% between his first and second seasons. Dioubate can do it all and is why he is ranked as five-star transfer prospect by EvanMiya.

He’ll bring a much-needed brand of physicality and aggression to a roster that desperately needed it this past year, too, specializing in dunking would-be layups and giving nightmares to opposing offenses.

Dioubate will join forward Kam Williams and guard Jaland Lowe in what is shaping up to become one of the highest ranked classes in the country, and with more than two weeks of the portal remaining, he likely won’t be the last.