Kentucky basketball has picked up its first commitment from the transfer portal this offseason. And it’s a major addition for Mark Pope’s program.
On Wednesday night, Washington sophomore point guard Zoom Diallo committed to Kentucky out of the portal. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress was the first to report Diallo’s commitment.
A 6-foot-4 floor general whose given first name is Vazoumana, Diallo took a recruiting trip to UK this past weekend.
Diallo’s commitment to Kentucky came after UK missed out on another point guard in the transfer portal. On Wednesday afternoon, BYU sophomore guard Rob Wright III decided to return to the Cougars for his junior season. Wright took a recruiting visit to Kentucky before making this choice.
Diallo averaged 15.7 points, 4.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game this past season as a sophomore for the Huskies. He also made 31.5% of his 3-point tries on an average of 2.2 attempts per game.
247Sports ranks Diallo as the No. 26 available player in the portal. He is a former McDonald’s All-American out of high school who was ranked as a four-star prospect in the 2024 high school recruiting class.
According to 247Sports, Diallo was the eighth-best point guard available in the portal.
Several top point guards in the portal have already also made their college choices, including P.J. Haggerty (Kansas State to Texas A&M), Isaiah Johnson (Colorado to Texas) and Dedan Thomas Jr. (LSU to Houston).
Point guard was the top position of need for Kentucky this offseason. The Wildcats have dealt with injuries at that position during both of Pope’s seasons as head coach. UK is also losing junior guard Jaland Lowe and freshman guard Jasper Johnson from this past season’s team, as both players entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Lowe has committed to Georgetown from the portal, while Johnson is yet to pick a new school. Alabama is the program trending the most for Johnson.
Each of Kentucky’s additions so far this offseason has come at point guard. Along with Diallo, Pope has a high school commitment from four-star class of 2026 point guard Mason Williams, who is projected to be a depth piece on next season’s roster.
Williams is a son of new UK assistant coach Mo Williams, a former NBA All-Star who was most recently the head coach at Jackson State.
Kentucky’s projected roster for next season now features seven players.
Along with Diallo and Williams, the Wildcats are also expected to have freshman forward Braydon Hawthorne, freshman center Malachi Moreno, sophomore wing Kam Williams, sophomore forward Trent Noah and junior forward Reece Potter.
Hawthorne and Potter both redshirted the 2025-26 season, but they’re expected to remain with the Cats for the 2026-27 season. Moreno has entered his name into the 2026 NBA draft, but he’s announced that if he’s playing college basketball next season it will be for Kentucky.
Williams and Noah have announced their returns to the UK program.
This story was initially revealed April 15, 2026 at 5:59 PM.
Lexington Herald-Leader
