Kentucky point guard Jaland Lowe has decided to enter the college basketball transfer portal.
Lowe — a 6-foot-1 player from Missouri City, Texas — transferred to UK last year after two seasons with Pittsburgh, and he was expected to be the Cats’ starting point guard during the 2025-26 campaign.
A preseason shoulder injury — suffered during the team’s Blue-White Game in October — threw a wrench into those plans, however. Lowe started the regular season on the sidelines and ultimately played in only nine games for the Cats, reinjuring the same shoulder several times while trying to play through the pain.
Lowe made his final UK basketball appearance in a 92-68 victory over Mississippi State on Jan. 10 and opted for surgery shortly thereafter. He is expected to receive a medical redshirt waiver from the NCAA, which would leave him with two remaining seasons of college eligibility.
Ranked as the No. 36 overall player in the transfer portal by 247Sports last spring, Lowe was a major addition to Mark Pope’s second UK basketball team. He was viewed as a player with NBA draft upside after averaging 16.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game as a sophomore at Pitt.
He averaged 8.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in nine appearances at Kentucky.
Lowe was also the only true point guard on Pope’s roster. High school recruit Acaden Lewis backed out of his commitment to the Cats shortly after Lowe announced that he would be transferring to UK, and the program lost Travis Perry just before last year’s portal deadline.
The 2026 transfer portal will open April 7, the day after the national championship game, and will close for new entrants April 21. Any player who enters the portal during that timeframe will be permitted to switch schools this offseason without having to sit out as a transfer.
Lowe is expected to have several high-major suitors.
His defection, which has been expected behind the scenes in recent weeks, means Pope will be searching for a new starting point guard for his 2026-27 team.
Kentucky landed a commitment from four-star high school recruit Mason Williams — the son of former NBA guard Mo Williams — on Friday, but the 6-2 playmaker is expected to be a depth piece for the Cats next season.
Pope talked on his final radio show Monday night of the importance of finding the right fit at the point guard position for the 2026-27 season.
Lowe is the first Kentucky player with remaining eligibility to make a decision to enter the transfer portal this offseason, but he’s not expected to be the last. Aside from Jayden Quaintance, who is expected to enter the 2026 NBA draft, there are 10 additional UK players with eligibility beyond this season.
While Pope is hoping to bring back several players from his 2025-26 roster, more transfer decisions are expected in the coming days.
Kentucky’s season ended with an 82-63 loss to Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 22.
Several other talented point guards have already revealed their plans to enter the transfer portal when it opens next month, including Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad, LSU’s Dedan Thomas Jr. and Santa Clara’s Christian Hammond, who played against UK in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That list will grow in the coming days.
Kentucky guard Jaland Lowe, center, watches the Wildcats play against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Rupp Arena on Jan. 10, 2026. Ryan C. Hermens [email protected]
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 12:45 PM.
Ben Roberts
Lexington Herald-Leader
Ben Roberts is the University of Kentucky men’s basketball beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He has previously specialized in UK basketball recruiting coverage and created and maintained the Next Cats blog. He is a Franklin County native and first joined the Herald-Leader in 2006.
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