Mark Pope had a message for Big Blue Nation right when the transfer portal opened

The clock has officially struck midnight on April 7th, which means the transfer portal is open and the Kentucky Wildcats will be looking to reload. This offseason is going to be incredibly important for the Kentucky Wildcats and head coach Mark Pope. The 2025-26 season didn’t go as planned for Coach Pope, so to get this fan base fully bought back in, he has to knock the portal out of the park.

Right when midnight hit, Coach Pope put out a tweet to try to get Big Blue Nation fired up for what is to come. Coach Pope tweeted, “Let’s go to work, BBN.” Kentucky fans really want to see Coach Pope succeed, but some are losing faith. This tweet signifies that Coach Pope understands how important it will be for him to hit the portal out of the ballpark.

Let’s go to work BBN
— Mark Pope (@CoachMarkPope) April 7, 2026

When it comes to what Kentucky will need in the portal, the staff will be looking to reload all over the roster. Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen, Jaland Lowe, Mo Dioubate, Jasper Johnson, and Brandon Garrison are all gone, and some more players are expected to follow. This means Pope will need guards, forwards, and centers in the portal.

The first priority for Coach Pope will be landing an elite point guard. Reports are out that Kentucky is going to make a run at Dedan Thomas Jr., who just transferred away from LSU. Thomas Jr. was a target for the staff last offseason before heading down to LSU. If the staff is able to land Thomas Jr., they will still need to go get another point guard in the portal to make sure there is enough depth.

Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks on against the Santa Clara Broncos during the first 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

The staff also needs to go out and get some shooters. The shooting on last season's roster was not good enough, and this is a big reason why the Wildcats ended up underachieving. For Pope’s offense to work at a high level, the roster has to have a bunch of elite shooters, so Pope needs to go and find them in the portal over the next few weeks.

Coach Pope knows how much this offseason means to him, being a successful head coach at Kentucky, so he needs to go out and land some elite talent to get Kentucky basketball back to the place it deserves. Pope understands how special this program is, and he is going to do everything in his power to bring home a banner next season.