Mark Pope and the Kentucky coaching staff are getting ready to try to reload the roster for the 2026-27 season, and a good chunk of this will need to be done in the transfer portal. The Wildcats don’t have any commits in the 2026 class, and with Jason Hart out the door, it is hard to see Kentucky landing Tyran Stokes. Hart’s departure will also make it tough to land G-League guard Dink Pate.
All of this means that the only real avenue for Coach Pope to improve this roster will be to hit the transfer portal incredibly hard. With Denzel Aberdeen and Otega Oweh out of eligibility, one place where Kentucky will have to reload is at the guard position.
One guard just announced that he plans to enter the portal when it opens on the 7th, and this player could be a perfect fit at Kentucky. This player is also a familiar face for Kentucky fans as he played for Santa Clara last season, so just under a week ago, he took on the Wildcats.
The player I am referring to is Christian Hammond, who was the leading scorer for the Santa Clara Broncos, and his incredible season earned him First Team All-WCC honors. Hammond averaged 15.6 points, three rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. The sophomore guard shot 48.4% from the field and 39% from three.
Hammond definitely didn’t have his best showing against the Wildcats on Thursday last week, but he is a player who will be a starting guard at a good school next year, and Coach Pope needs to do everything in his power to make that Kentucky. The other reason it would be great for Pope to land Hammond is that he has multiple years of eligibility left. He is a player who could man the backcourt in Lexington for multiple years…