Is Kentucky done finding a 15th guy after the Mark Mitchell drama?

Is it worth it for Mark Pope and Kentucky to fight with the NCAA again or is their 14th-man roster what takes the floor in October?

Mar 19, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope talks with the media during a practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What a few weeks it was. Kentucky pursued Michigan State transfer Jaxon Kohler once he became eligible, but he chose to go elsewhere and the Wildcats turned their attention to Mark Mitchell, who was granted a temporary restraining order in his court case against the NCAA on Aug. 21. Things looked great between Kentucky and Mitchell, but it wasn't quite as easy as they thought.

Once Mitchell won his court case in Louisville, the two parties were confident in their ability to make a commitment happen. But, the SEC made their presence felt and reiterrated that the long-time SEC intraconference transfer rule is still in effect. Kentucky welcomed Mitchell the day after the decision from the court hearing. Big Blue Nation was excited, thinking if there is a commitment, things must have gone well. That was not the case, as the SEC began to crack down on the intraconference transfer rule that states players can transfer within the conference only during the designated portal window that follows the National Championship game in April. Mitchell then decided this isn't worth the fight as he is now headed back to Missouri. Is Kentucky done finding a 15th guy after all of this drama?

Mar 11, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his team against the Louisiana State Tigers during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For Kentucky, they clearly wanted Mitchell badly. The star SEC forward even committed just over a week ago, but the long-time SEC rule won out and now the Wildcats are left with nothing. It's been a long few weeks with all of the eligibility drama and now, the search continues for finding someone to fill the last roster spot. Kentucky put all of their eggs into the Mark Mitchell basket and that resulted in missing on Jaxon Kohler. Will they continue to search for a 15th guy? Unless someone pops up in this short amount of time due to the class adding deadline at UK, it's hard to picture a final addition happening.

What does the loss of Mitchell mean for Kentucky? They're now left scrambling to find someone to fill the final spot. The SEC intraconference transfer rule was ulitimately the reason for this one, but you can't deny the fact that other options were there before. Now, Kentucky goes back to where they were. The Wildcats went from a few days of being a top 10 team with Mitchell to now a top 20 team capable of a deep tournament run.

The final roster spot is now back open and we'll see what Mark Pope can do with it.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and YouTube for the latest news.