Mark Pope needs to make sure he lands some elite shooters in the transfer portal

Next year's Kentucky team needs more knockdown shooters.

Kentucky's head coach Mark Pope yells at his team against Tennessee at Rupp Arena Saturday night. Feb. 7, 2026 | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This is going to be a very important transfer cycle for Mark Pope, as he currently does not have any players committed in the 2026 class, so he will be fully reloading next year's roster from the portal unless a random high school commit comes in. There are 11 players on this year's team who could come back next season, but most assume we will see a good number of players hit the portal.

One thing Kentucky needs to go get out of the transfer portal is some knockdown shooting. Obviously, Collin Chandler is a great shooter for this team, and he is expected to be back next year, but aside from him, it is a concern. There is a ton of belief that Kam Williams will take a big-time step next year if he stays in Lexington, but the Wildcats will need more shooting.

Mar 12, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his team against the Missouri Tigers during the second half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

In year one, Pope’s team had a ton of different players who were capable of popping out and making the three. The Wildcats this season just don’t seem to have that same firepower from deep. Kentucky is shooting 34.1% from three this season compared to last year, when they shot 37.4%.

In both years at Kentucky, Coach Pope has not reached his goal of over 30 three-point attempts per game. This year, the style of play his team has shown has been vastly different from what fans were expecting. It has not fully looked like the Pope offense that fans saw in year one in Lexington and his other stops.

Mar 13, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts to a call against the Florida Gators during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

He needs a few players who can be knockdown shooters with the green light to shoot the ball. This will be the number one goal of this staff in the portal. Koby Brea was a player who could be relied on to shoot the three-ball, and Chandler seems close to this but not quite there. Obviously, Chandler has been clutch for Kentucky, but there are some games where he disappears.

The Wildcats need a player or perhaps even two who fans know are going to make two or three shots from deep every single game. This is the type of player Brea was, and for the Pope offense to work at a high level, a team needs this. More than likely, Coach Pope will be replacing a lot of different positions via the portal, but for me, the number one need for the 2026-27 roster is some elite shooting.