From these seats to the sideline: A Kentucky kid leads the Wildcats. Where it all began. 2026 Season Preview Tom Leach: 30 Seasons The 1951 Wildcats Inside: 410 18 Presented By 2026 Official Kentucky Football Yearbook© 2026 The Coca-Cola Company. “Coca-Cola” is a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company. ISTHIRSTYWORK FAN WORKSAVE YOUR WAY SAME POINTS. MORE CHOICES. * OR Dollars OFF Groceries Up to $1 OFF per Gallon Learn more at Kroger.com/points * Restrictions apply. See site for details.2026 Kentucky Football Yearbook is published by the University of Kentucky Athletics Department University of Kentucky Athletics Director: J Batt Communications and Public Relations: Susan Lax, Matt May, Tony Neely, Deb Moore 410 West Vine Street Suite 150 Lexington, KY 40507 859-230-4372 Brandon Baker, Curtis Burch, Brent Carney, Randy Carter, Annie Gillenwater, Devin Jones, Michelle Knezovic, Jensen Linder, Davis Luna, Adair Mattingly, Case Miller, Seth Poteat, Kim Ramsay, Lance Reed, Nadia Steinbicker, Saige Sutterlin, Matt Taylor, Brad Tucker Design & Publishing: Jai Giffin Creative Director: Jamie Barker Production Assistance: Laura Doolittle, Lisa RobertsTom Leach: 30 Seasons as the Voice of the Wildcats Tom Leach’s voice has become synonymous with UK football for generations of Big Blue Nation fans. 2026 Season Preview A new coaching staff and renewed confidence have UK looking to surprise in 2026. 2026 Kentucky Wildcats 24Players 50Cats on the Map 53Numerical Roster 2026 Coaching Staff 56Head Coach Will Stein 60Coaching Staff This is Kentucky 64Joe Craft Facility 66Nutter Field House 68Weight Room 70Player Development 72University of Kentucky 73Housing 74Game Day 75Nike Swag 76The Kentucky Road 78Academics 80Kentucky Football in the NFL 82SEC Dominates Thank You 84Season Ticket Holders 2026 Opponents 92Youngstown State 95Alabama 96Texas A&M 97South Alabama 98South Carolina 99LSU 100Oklahoma 101Vanderbilt 102Tennessee 103Florida 104Missouri 105Louisville The University 106UK Sports Network 108President Eli Capilouto 110Athletic Director J Batt History and Records 112Kentucky Bowl History 113Single-Game Records 114Longest Plays 116Kroger Field The 1951 Wildcats: A Season Worth Remembering Seventy-five years later, the 1951 Wildcats remain one of the defining teams of the Bear Bryant era. 10 4 18 Contents KENTUCKY WILDCATSFOOTBALL YEARBOOK 3 By Tom Leach “Voice of the Wildcats” A New Coaching Staff and Renewed Confidence have UK Looking to Surprise in 2026. Fresh StartKENTUCKY WILDCATSFOOTBALL YEARBOOK 5 I n 2021, Kentucky football scored one of the biggest early wins of the transfer portal era by landing Will Levis, a promising quarterback from Penn State who was stuck in a back- up role before blossoming as the Wildcats’ starter. If Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey can approach that level of success in his first season leading Kentucky’s offense, it could be a key ingredient in the Wildcats exceeding expectations this fall. Kentucky also hired Will Stein, who has built a reputation for identi- fying and developing quarterbacks. If Stein believes Minchey is ready, that’s a reason for Big Blue Nation to be optimistic. “I didn’t know how much he really loved football,” Stein said this spring after his first spring together with Minchey. “He brought it every single day, and it gives me confidence that he is going to maintain that through- out the season. He’s got an elite foot- ball brain. He thinks at a high level. And I’ve been impressed with his ability to throw the ball on time, in rhythm and into tight windows.” When Minchey signed with No- tre Dame out of high school, he was ranked among the nation’s top 15 quarterback prospects. But during his first two seasons in South Bend, the Fighting Irish brought in veter- an transfers. In his third season, Minchey received his first legitimate opportunity to compete for the start- ing job but lost to CJ Carr in what those around the Notre Dame pro- gram described as a close battle. “Kenny Minchey pushed CJ Carr more than I think even the staff thought going in,” said Tony Simeone, Notre Dame’s radio play-by-play an- nouncer. “His ability to move outside the pocket is what kept him in that race. He did everything right when he was here, and I think everyone is ex- cited to see him get an opportunity to start at Kentucky. “He’s been around really good quarterbacks, and he’s seen what it takes to get to the national champi- onship game. He’s been around a lot of really good football minds. “I think what he’s known for is be- ing a really good student of the game. He’s going to know the playbook, and he’s going to put the ball where it needs to be. He’s an outstanding locker room guy. Great leader. Every Notre Dame fan is rooting for Kenny moving forward.” Minchey appeared in only 10 games at Notre Dame, completing 23 of 29 passes for 212 yards. Levis, meanwhile, played in just 15 games during three seasons at Penn State and threw for 644 yards before flour- ishing under then-offensive coordi- nator Liam Coen, now the head coach of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Big Blue Nation is hoping Minchey follows a similar path under Stein and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. Stein, himself a former Louisville quarterback, has developed a repu- tation as both an innovative play-call- er and quarterback developer. The first two quarterbacks he coached as Oregon’s offensive coordinator be- came NFL starters, and last season’s quarterback, Dante Moore, is con- sidered one of the top professional prospects whenever he enters the NFL draft. “Very well-respected across col- lege football for his ability to create mismatches and get the right guys the ball,” said Chris Low of On3, who profiled Stein this summer. Low said he regularly asks athlet- ic directors and college football in- siders about the next wave of rising assistant coaches, and Stein’s name was “always at the top.” Why? “His ability to connect with play- ers, his ability as a play-caller, being on the cutting edge of doing what you need to do now to move the ball in college football and get the ball to the playmakers, and the people he’s worked under,” Low said. “He’s such a fiery competitor. Charlie Strong loves the guy. He loves to tell story af- ter story about Will, and he’s a big be- liever that Will is going to get it done at Kentucky. “Number one is just a massive self-belief in his system and who he is. And the people he’s surrounded himself with, not just on the field but also on the support staff. You see a Quarterback Kenny Minchey6 KENTUCKY WILDCATSFOOTBALL YEARBOOK mix of a lot of different people. He’s one of those guys on offense who just seems to have that touch. His offens- es work. “He’s got that presence about him. He understands that doing what you did at Oregon is not apples to apples at Kentucky.” Low said Stein also believes Ken- tucky can compete financially in the SEC despite the realities of the NIL landscape. “He told me he believes they’ll be pretty competitive with most of the schools they’re competing against in the SEC,” Low said. “He wanted to be at Kentucky. He had other opportuni- ties, and he had a great job at Oregon. To have a guy who wants to be at Ken- tucky, I don’t think there’s any substi- tute for that.” Fox Sports broadcaster Tim Bran- do, who covered SEC football for years and has worked several of Stein’s games at Oregon, is equally bullish. “His story as a player is similar to his story as a coach,” Brando said on “The Leach Report” after Stein was hired last December. “I don’t doubt for one second that he’ll be able to attract some of the top personnel in college football on the offensive side of the ball. He’s a great get for Ken- tucky. “His willingness to say, ‘OK, this is what I like, but what do you like?’ Today’s college football player has been playing year-round football for a long time, and Will is the kind of coach who says, ‘What do you like? Because you’re the guy who’s got to make a play.’ I think players really identify with that.” Brando compared Dan Lanning hiring Stein to run Oregon’s offense to Bob Stoops hiring Mike Leach from Kentucky to modernize Oklahoma’s attack. “All defensive-minded coaches know who runs the offenses that give them trouble,” Brando said. “The en- ergy level that Will has is fantastic, but when you sit down and talk to him, there is a peace about him and a presence that really does evoke hu- mility that most guys his age who’ve been successful are never able to project. I think that’s one thing Ken- tucky fans are going to love about this guy.” Because Stein was hired late in the cycle, Kentucky leaned heavily on the transfer portal, particularly along the offensive line, where the Wildcats landed projected starters from Ohio State, Tennessee and Baylor. Sloan liked what he saw during spring practice. “They really jelled together in the spring, and I’ve got to give a lot of credit to coach Cutter Leftwich and those guys,” Sloan said. “I think Cole- ton Price has been a leader at center and a catalyst. As they started to un- derstand the scheme, a lot of talent showed up. I think it has an opportu- nity to be a strength for us.” Head Coach Will Stein addresses the Wildcats during a team huddle at spring practice.KENTUCKY WILDCATSFOOTBALL YEARBOOK 7 The depth chart at wide receiver and running back remains unsettled, but Sloan is excited about tight end Willie Rodriguez. “He’s an absolute stud,” Sloan said. “Willie’s got an opportunity to play football for a long time. We’re trying to push him into a leadership role, and I think he’s been vocal and setting the tempo. We couldn’t be more fired up about him.” Although Stein is known for of- fense, he said he runs practices with an emphasis on physicality that re- sembles many defensive-minded coaches. Jay Bateman left Texas A&M to become Kentucky’s defensive coor- dinator, and he quickly liked what he found. “I knew we had some good play- ers, but the thing I’ve been impressed with is how willing and encouraged they are about what we’re doing,” Bateman said. “I think they’ve helped establish a certain level of effort, physicality and all the things that matter. “I think the key thing now in college football is that the player-led stan- dard is the standard that wins. Your roster is more transient, and I think trying to identify your leaders and provide them with what really mat- ters is weaponizing them to be lead- ers. It’s taking those guys and saying, ‘What do you think is important?’ and then getting that across to the other guys while the leaders hold them ac- countable.” “I love the way he runs his de- fense,” senior safety Ty Bryant said. “It’s a much more aggressive style of defense. We’re getting after the quar- terback a little bit more. I think our practices are much more physical, too.” As for the complexity of his de- fensive scheme, Bateman offered an easy-to-understand analogy. He said he’s looking for something between the extensive menu at The Cheesecake Factory and the streamlined approach at Raising Cane’s. Among the players who chose not to enter the transfer portal after the coaching change are veterans who have played meaningful snaps at all three levels of the defense. Defensive Coordinator, Jay Bateman, instructs Jesse Anderson III during the spring game.Next >