A Kentucky transfer portal target has committed to Louisville

Mark Pope tried to get involved with this recruit in the portal, but it was too late.

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope speaks during the postgame press conference after the game against the Iowa State Cyclones during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

Kentucky has already landed two guards in the transfer portal as both Zoom Diallo from Washington and Alex Wilkins from Furman have picked the Wildcats. While Kentucky has added two guards from the portal, the team has lost every single guard from a year ago, which means Pope has more guards to add to the roster.

One name that Kentucky just recently got involved with was De’Shayne Montgomery from Dayton who just had a really good season for the Flyers. This year he averaged 13.4 points, four rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.7 stocks per game. Montgomery shot 49% from the field and 33.5% from three.

Mar 14, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Dayton Flyers guard De'shayne Montgomery (2) brings the ball up court against the Saint Louis Billikens during the first half in an Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Semifinal game at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The elite defender also had spent a year in the SEC playing for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he averaged 6.5 points per game. When Kentucky got involved in this recruitment, the Louisville Cardinals already had a lead, but Pope tried to get Kentucky into the running.

The staff wanted to see if they could get Montgomery on campus for a visit before he picked Louisville, but the Cardinals didn’t want him to make that visit. Well, Pat Kelsey got what he wanted as the former Dayton Flyer just picked the Cardinals and will suit up for Kentucky’s archrival next season.

Fans can’t really be all that mad at Coach Pope for missing on Montgomery, knowing the staff was really late in the recruitment of this 6’4 guard, but his elite defense and experience in the SEC would have been really good for this Kentucky backcourt. Now Kentucky will have to keep looking for guards, as there are a lot of sports left to fill in this backcourt.

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts to a play during the first half against the Iowa State Cyclones during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

As much as it pains Kentucky fans to admit it, Kelsey and the Cardinals have done an excellent job in the transfer portal, and they are going to be a force next season. If Pope can’t find some elite players, the Cardinals very well could walk into Rupp Arena next year and beat Kentucky for the second straight season.

Outside of some deep depth pieces, Diallo and Wilkins are the only two players the Wildcats have in the backcourt who will have an impact next season. Guard is going to be very important over the next few weeks, and Pope and the staff might have to start looking in Europe. For Kentucky to be competitive with the top teams next season, this backcourt needs to add more depth and some good depth at that.