Thursday's open practice revealed some good injury news for the Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats are getting closer to being fully healthy.

Mar 13, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his team against the Florida Gators during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have had a ton of injury trouble over the last few seasons, so Big Blue Nation is praying that the team will be able to stay healthy this season. Well, that hope is already off to a rough start as Kam Williams had a second surgery, Trent Noah is banged up, and Franck Kepnang was being held out of practice.

Yesterday, Pope held an open practice for Big Blue Nation, and a lot of the media was able to make it into this practice. One of the positive takeaways from this practice was that backup big man Kepnang was back on the floor. BBN has had some concerns with Kepnang, as he has had a lot of injury history over his career in college hoops.

Washington Huskies center Franck Kepnang (11) celebrates a defensive play during the second half of their game in the Acrisure Series in Palm Desert, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Big Blue Nation is very excited about Kepnang as the backup five behind Malachi Moreno this season. Last year for the Washington Huskies, where he played alongside Zoom Diallo, Kepnang averaged 6.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. Kepnang is a great rim protector who will play elite defense for the Wildcats and grab boards if he can stay on the floor.

It sounds like the reason Kepnang wasn’t on the floor lately was that the staff wanted to be smart with him and make sure that he doesn’t get banged up in the offseason. Fans were impressed with how he looked at open practice yesterday, further proving that he is a really good fit to run the five when superstar Moreno takes a seat.

Jan 14, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies center Franck Kepnang (11) steps over Michigan Wolverines forward Morez Johnson Jr. (21) during the second half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Teams need depth, and at the five spot is even more important because there are a lot of fouls taken by centers. There will be a game this season where Moreno gets himself into some early foul trouble, and Kepnang is going to have to play well in extended minutes. We saw this happen last season with Moreno, and Brandon Garrison had to step into an extended role. This will happen at some point this season with Kepnang.

There wasn’t a ton of concern with the long-term injury of Kepnang, but fans were still happy to see him on the floor and playing well in the tail end of summer practice. Pope and the staff have a really good team but getting everyone healthy and back on the floor is going to be important for the staff.

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