Mark Pope's top three needs with Kentucky's final roster spot

Mark Pope has to find an elite player to fill the 15th roster spot.

Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts 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 | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Yesterday was a very interesting day in the college basketball world as Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado granted a class wide preliminary injunction which will allow players who graduated high school in the 2022 class and used all four years of their college eligibility to receive another year.

There are a ton of talented college players who used their final year of eligibility last season that are now getting another year based on this ruling. One of those players is former Wildcat Denzel Aberdeen, who is back at Florida to use his final year of eligibility. Coach Pope purposefully left the last spot on the roster open, and this ruling coming to fruition was one of the reasons that he did that.

Knowing that a large pool of players is now back on the market, it will be interesting to see what Coach Pope wants to do. Let’s take a look at Pope’s top three needs to fill with this final roster spot.

Kentucky basketball head coach Mark Pope gives an update on the upcoming 2026-27 season during a press conference in Lexington, Kentucky July 24, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Three needs for Mark Pope to choose from to fill the final roster spot

Backup five/Four or five combo

There are some concerns with the health of Franck Kepnang. During his college career, he has struggled to stay on the floor. If he were to miss time with an injury, the Wildcats would really struggle to find backup minutes behind Malachi Moreno. Going to get a player who can play the five but is also athletic enough to run the four could be a good choice for Pope and the staff.  

Sharpshooting wing

Kam Williams is currently sidelined with an injury, and BBN is hoping he will be back sooner rather than later. If he does miss time this season, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to add a wing who can shoot the lights out. Adding more shooting to a Pope-coached team is never a bad idea, so perhaps this is the direction the staff goes.

Ball-handling guard

Heading into the summer, guard play was a real concern for me with this Kentucky team, but Mason Williams seems to be stepping up in a big way. Knowing that Zoom Diallo, Alex Wilkins, Jerone Morton, and Williams are all capable of running the one makes me feel better, but this is still a position I could see Coach Pope adding a player if he felt he needed to. This would be the least of my three wants to add to the roster.

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