Kentucky’s Projected Starting Five for the 2026-27 Season
By AllePL News | August 22, 2026
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Mark Pope has spent the summer putting together one of the more unusual Kentucky rosters of his tenure. The Wildcats have size almost everywhere, several players capable of handling the ball and enough shooting to make a big lineup workable. The question now is how Pope fits those pieces together when the season begins.
Kentucky’s official 2026-27 roster lists 14 players, including four players listed at 7 feet or taller: Malachi Moreno, Franck Kepnang, Ousmane N’Diaye and Reece Potter. The Wildcats also added six transfers, with Iowa State forward Milan Momcilovic among the most notable additions. Kentucky returns five players from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, giving Pope both new options and some continuity.
The most logical starting point in the backcourt is Zoom Diallo. The 6-foot-6 junior guard is entering his second season with Kentucky after transferring from Washington, and his size gives Pope a different look at the point. Diallo’s ability to operate with the ball should be particularly important if Kentucky chooses to put multiple bigger players around him.
Alex Wilkins is another strong candidate to start. The 6-foot-6 guard transferred from Furman and gives Kentucky another long perimeter option. His place in the lineup would make sense if Pope wants to keep the floor balanced while surrounding his bigger frontcourt players with enough shooting and ball movement.
The most intriguing addition may be Momcilovic. The 6-foot-9 senior arrived from Iowa State after ranking as the nation’s leading 3-point shooter a year ago, according to Kentucky’s announcement. His ability to stretch the floor could be what makes a two-big lineup much easier to play. If defenders have to respect Momcilovic beyond the arc, Moreno and N’Diaye should have more room to operate inside.
That brings the frontcourt to N’Diaye and Moreno. N’Diaye is listed at 7 feet and 210 pounds, while Moreno is also 7 feet, at 245 pounds. Moreno is the easier choice to project into the lineup after starting 30 games last season and leading Kentucky in rebounding, blocks and field-goal percentage. He was also named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
N’Diaye is where the lineup becomes more interesting. His size gives Kentucky an enormous defensive presence, but the real question is whether Pope wants that much length on the floor from the opening tip. A starting group of Diallo, Wilkins, Momcilovic, N’Diaye and Moreno would average roughly 6-foot-9, and it would give Kentucky a significant size advantage against many teams.
There are alternatives, though. Kam Williams could push his way into the starting group after returning from injury. The 6-foot-7 guard showed his shooting ability last season, making eight 3-pointers against Bellarmine, matching a Kentucky single-game record. Braydon Hawthorne is another wildcard after redshirting last season, while Justin McBride and Kepnang give Pope additional size and physicality.
Pope has not named an official starting five, and that is probably a good thing this early. During summer practice, he said the roster’s versatility could become a strength and pointed specifically to the team’s length. He also acknowledged that this group does not have the established defensive names of last season, but believes its collective length and basketball IQ can make the Wildcats disruptive.
For now, Diallo, Wilkins, Momcilovic, N’Diaye and Moreno look like the most natural five to project. It is not necessarily the group that will finish the season together, but it gives Pope a combination of size, shooting and positional flexibility that is difficult to ignore.
The bigger question is whether Kentucky can turn that unusual physical profile into an advantage in the SEC. The Wildcats will face every league opponent at least once and have home-and-home series against Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. If the new pieces settle quickly, Pope will have plenty of ways to change matchups without changing the identity of his team.
