Brandon Garrison has found his new home and will be staying in the SEC

Brandon Garrison will be an SEC foe for Kentucky next season.

Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Brandon Garrison (10) reacts after dunking the ball against Santa Clara Broncos guard Christian Hammond (1) during the overtime period of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Recently, it was announced that Kentucky center Brandon Garrison would be hitting the transfer portal and looking for a new school. For a few days, it seemed like he would be following Jason Hart to SMU, but this is not what happened. After about a week of the transfer portal being open, it was announced that Garrison will be staying in the SEC and playing for Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

This is not a move that I was expecting, and it will be very interesting to see how Garrison will play in the Oats system. Alabama will always be a team that shoots a ton of threes, and while Garrison is capable of popping out and making a three, most wouldn’t consider him an elite shooter. During his time in Lexington, Garrison always said that he was a confident shooter, so perhaps Oats believes he can tap into that ability.

Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Brandon Garrison (10) reacts after dunking the ball against Santa Clara Broncos forward Allen Graves (22) during the second half of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

While the play of Garrison was frustrating at times, Kentucky Wildcats fans really did like Garrison and will be rooting him on aside from when the Wildcats take on the Crimson Tide. It is sad that Garrison transferred to an SEC school because obviously, Big Blue Nation will not be able to pull for Garrison the same amount as if he were out of the conference.

It sounds like there is a world where Jasper Johnson could join Garrison in Tuscaloosa, which would be interesting to see play out. While Johnson didn’t have an elite season, the injuries at point guard had him playing out of position, and some still believe that he will have a very good college career.

Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Brandon Garrison (10) dunks the ball against the Santa Clara Broncos during the overtime period of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Kentucky hasn’t beaten Oats and Alabama during the Pope era, and it will be interesting to see if that will continue with Garrison running the five for Alabama. Malachi Moreno took over as the starting five for the Wildcats early into the season, and when this happened, many believed Garrison would hit the portal when the season came to an end.

Obviously, Kentucky will take on the Crimson Tide and Garrison next season, so Coach Pope will be looking for his first win over Alabama. There are still more Wildcats in the portal who have not found a home, like Jaland Lowe, Mo Dioubate, and the previously mentioned Johnson. Andrija Jelavic is heading to Ohio State, and Collin Chandler will be heading home to play for BYU next season, where he originally committed.