2025 is officially over, closing the book on the Mark Stoops era at Kentucky and the first season and a half for Mark Pope in Lexington. 2026 brings with it a critical SEC slate for Pope and the basketball Cats and the first season of the Will Stein era, along with the second half of Kenny Brooks’ second season, Nick Mingione’s tenth season at Kentucky, and Craig Skinner’s 22nd.
While, as Kentucky fans, we’d love nothing more than for the Cats to win every single game, some stand above the rest. Here are the ten I want the most in 2026, in chronological order.