< PreviousHigh School Led high school team to a 29-1 record his se- nior season ... Averaged 11.8 points, 7.9 re- bounds, 1.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks for a team that won its final 25 games ... Squad claimed the South Jersey, Group 2 champion- ship and the No. 1 spot in the final NJ.com Top 50 rankings ... Named the NJ.com Player of the Year and was a NJ.com All-State First Team selection ... Averaged 11.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game during the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League in 2019 ... Also performed well at the Peach Jam finals in 2019, averaging 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game ... Selected to the Allen Iverson Roundball Classic ... Four-star prospect ranked as high as No. 36 in the class by Rivals. Personal Born Feb. 8 in Edgewater Park, New Jersey ... Parents are Monique Ripka and Stephen Ware ... Has two siblings, Shataya and Stefon ... Major is undeclared/exploratory studies in agriculture ... Chose Kentucky over Michigan, Ohio State, Providence and Miami ... Lists his parents as his life’s greatest influences ... Chose No. 55 because it is unique ... Favorite show on Netflix is All-American ... Listens to Drake before games ... Lists Michael Kidd- Gilchrist as his favorite former UK player ... His most memorable moment as a basketball player is going 29-1 his final season of high school ... Enjoys playing Call of Duty when he’s not playing basketball. F n 6-9 n 223 n Fr . LANCE WARE #55 Camden, N.J. Follow LANCE on Social Media n @lanceware12 on Twitter n @lance.ware on Instagram 50 @KentuckyMBB High School Appeared in all 26 games for Kingsway Re- gional during his senior season … Averaged 8.7 points per game … Notched 11 dou- ble-figure scoring efforts and knocked down multiple 3-pointers in 12 games … Scored a season-high 19 points on six made 3s with four assists against Woodstown … Also post- ed 16 points, five rebounds and four assists at Clearview and recorded 15 points, six boards and five dimes vs. Cumberland ... Dished out four or more assists in 14 games … Produced three or more steals in 10 games … Helped advance Kingsway to the 2020 NJSIAA Group 4 Championship field of 64. Personal Born Feb. 3 in Camden, New Jersey … Moth- er is Syreeta Brittingham … Stepfather is Dajuan Wagner, former Memphis star who played for John Calipari … Has two siblings, Dayonni and Dajuan Jr. … Major is finance … Off the court talent includes juggling … Lists his parents as the two people who have influenced him the most … When he’s not playing basketball he’s watching it … Listens to NBA YoungBoy, Polo G and Lil Durk pre- game … Chicken is his favorite food … Lists Kemba Walker as his favorite NBA player and Tyler Ulis as his favorite former UK player. G n 5-8 n 145 n Fr. KAREEM WATKINS #25 Camden, N.J. Follow KAREEM on Social Media n @stink_cvp on Instagram @UKSportsNetwork 51 2019-20 Saw action in four games during his first sea- son with the Wildcats … Made his UK debut in the win over Eastern Kentucky … Logged two steals, one each against EKU and Lamar. 2018-19 (College of the Desert) Saw action in 27 games ... Averaged 8.2 points per game for the Roadrunners ... Also contributed 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game ... Dished out a team-high 134 assists ... Sunk 31 shots from behind the arc ... Scored a career-high 29 points vs. San Jacin- to on Feb. 1 on 9-of-11 shooting and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line ... Recorded 19 points vs. West LA on Nov. 2 ... Twice tabbed to the College of the Desert Dean’s List. 2017-18 (UC Irvine) Appeared in 27 games as a true freshman ... Played double-digit minutes four times ... Scored five points in his collegiate debut at Denver ... Dished out four assists and hit a three against Chapman ... Had three assists in six minutes at Montana ... Snared four boards to couple with two points vs. UC Riv- erside ... Two-time Dean’s List honoree. High School Played for Chatfield High School ... 2016 Chauncey Billups regional champion ... School reached the Colorado High School Activities Association Final Four in 2016 ... Three-time league champion ... Two-time Jef- ferson County All-Conference ... 2014 Adidas Unrivaled assist leader ... Finalist in the 2013 USA U-18 3x3 Tournament ... Phi Theta Kap- pa Honor Society. Personal Born Sept. 26 in Fresno, California … Par- ents are John and Jean Welch … Has a sister, Haley ... Major is bachelor of liberal studies ... Father played basketball at UNLV and has served as a coach in the NBA for 15 years ... John Welch is currently serving as an as- sistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers ... Grandfather Coley was the third-ranked boxing middleweight in the world in 1941 ... Chose No. 13 because it was Steve Nash’s number ... Proudest moment as a basketball player was suiting up for UC Irvine for his first collegiate game. Guard n 6-0 n 185 n Sr. RILEY WELCH #13 Littleton, Colo. 52 @KentuckyMBB Follow RILEY on Social Media n @Riley__Welch on Twitter n @riley__welch on Instagram More than 330 days ago, the Kentucky baseball and softball teams were pre- paring for key weekend series in the South- eastern Conference. The baseball Cats had won six in a row and were preparing for a challenging three-game set at Vanderbilt. The softball Cats were off to a 20-4 start, producing prolific offensive statistics along the way, and were headed to Starkville to face Mississippi State. Then, everything came to a sudden halt. Games were postponed, then ultimately canceled, due to the COVID-19 pandem- ic. Ultimately, the seasons for both teams would end at that point. It left both teams with a hollow feeling and wondering what might have been. And for the seniors, it was an abrupt end to their careers at Kentucky. “I felt bad for the seniors,” said UK soft- ball head coach Rachel Lawson. “You wake up one day, you play a softball game and the next day, you become an average person.” Baseball head coach Nick Mingione was amazed how quickly things happened. “Bags were packed, we were getting ready to go to Nashville,” Mingione said. “It was so fast. It was, hey, we don’t know if we’re going to play yet, don’t leave to, the series is canceled, so we practiced. In the middle of our practice, one of our staff members came up to me and said, hey coach, they just canceled Omaha.” UK freshman John Rhodes still vividly re- members his feelings. “That was about the worst thing I could possibly imagine,” Rhodes said of the sud- den shut down. “Just one day, boom, cut off. There’s a lot of anger. It’s one of those things, it’s beyond baseball.” Now, not quite a full year later, the teams are back and preparing for the 2021 season. Both squads have left 2020 in the past. Lawson likes how her team has handled its business in the offseason. “It’s been a long 11 months for spring sports and the softball team,” Lawson said. “(The players) have shown so much self-dis- cipline through the extended periods. It took a lot of self-discipline and desire to get out there and stay in shape.” The softball Cats are ready to put 2020 completely behind them and move on, ac- cording to senior Mal- lory Peyton. “It has been a roller coaster of emotions,” Peyton said. “You can’t always control what life throws at you but you have the opportu- nity to respond in the way you want to re- spond. I think our team has done a great job of responding with a pos- itive attitude.” Junior Kayla Kowa- lik agrees with Peyton. “It’s very easy to look at it that we got cheated out of a season but I think it’s also beneficial to look at what could come out of it,” Kowalik said. “I look at it as, this is my opportunity, I didn’t know if I was going to get to play or practice in the fall and now I get to. We took it as a new opportunity ev- ery single day and I think that made us more grateful for it.” The softball Cats are ranked 13th in the preseason national polls and are expected to be among the contenders for the SEC championship. As always, the ultimate goal is to make the Women’s College World Series. “That’s the goal, that’s why you come to Kentucky,” Lawson said. Getting off to a fast start will be key for the 2021 Cats, according to their head coach. “In the preseason, it’s so important to get your wins quick,” Lawson said. “Because you don’t know if teams are going to shut down, if weather will shut you down.” In addition to dealing with the pandem- ic, the baseball Cats faced more adversity this spring with the death of teammate Ben Jordan. Mingione knows that the healing process will continue for some time. “Our guys are continuing to go through that process,” Mingione said. “We laughed, we cried, we spent a lot of time together. That was the worst thing you can imagine to go through as a coach.” As for what the team did during the pan- demic, Mingione knew that the Cats needed a change. And he knew exactly where that needed to happen. “The biggest thing we spent the most time on this fall was our defense,” Mingi- one said. “We used the quarantine to really evaluate all areas of our program and one thing I realized was that we need to be bet- ter defensively.” A pair of key additions will help UK’s de- fensive effort. “We brought in two players I believe that will really change and impact us defensive- ly,” Mingione said. “Ryan Ritter, he’ll be our starting shortstop, this guy can really defend at shortstop. Alonzo Rubicaba is a catcher we brought in from California and he can really receive. Mingione likes the attitude and tempera- ment of his team. “This team is high trust, low mainte- nance,” Mingione said. “They do every- thing they are asked. We’ve got tremendous leadership and they really like each other. They’re committed to our team and our goals.” As for the schedule, Kentucky opens at North Carolina and faces a tough, 30-game SEC slate that includes 27 games against teams ranked in the preseason. Senior pitch- er Jimmy Ramsey knows that there will be ups and downs in the SEC. “You just can’t get your head down if you’re struggling,” Ramsey said. “There’s a lot of weeks, a lot of games. If you have one bad performance, you can’t let that af- fect you going out the next time. Otherwise, you’re going to get in a spiral that you can’t get out of.” As the softball and baseball Cats prepare for the 2021 season, they appreciate the chance to be on the field again. “If last year taught people nothing else, people talk about being in the moment, but you should really appreciate what you’re doing because it can be taken away from you at a moment’s notice,” Lawson said. UK Baseball and Softball Look Forward To 2021 Seasons by Matt May UK Athletics Communications and Public Relations @UKSportsNetwork 53UK SPORTS NETWORK UK SPORTS NETWORK TV AFFILIATESTV AFFILIATES UK SPORTS NETWORK UK SPORTS NETWORK TV AFFILIATESTV AFFILIATES UK SPORTS NETWORK TV AFFILIATES SPORTS NETWORKSPORTS NETWORK Louisville Paducah Bowling Green Johnson City, TNUK Sports Network Radio Information Market Call Letters Frequency Ashland, KY WCMI 92.7 FM / 1340 AM Ashland/Greenup, KY WLGC 105.7 FM Benton, KY WCBL 99.1 FM / 1290 AM Bowling Green, KY WGGC 95.1 FM Burkesville, KY WKYR 107.9 FM Cadiz, KY WKDZ 106.5 FM / 1110 AM Campbellsville, KY WCKQ 104.1 FM Cincinnati WCKY 1530 AM Columbia, KY WAIN 93.5 FM / 1270 AM Corbin, KY WCTT 107.3 FM / 680 AM Dry Ridge, KY WNKR 106.7 FM Elizabethtown, KY WAKY 103.5 FM / 620 AM Flemingsburg, KY WFLE 95.1 FM Grayson, KY WUGO 99.7 FM Greenville, KY WKYA 105.5 FM Hardinsburg, KY WXBC 104.3 FM Harlan, KY WTUK 105.1 FM Hazard, KY WSGS 101.1 FM Henderson, KY WSON 96.5 FM / 860 AM Hopkinsville, KY WHOP 98.7 FM / 1230 AM Jamestown, KY WJRS 104.9 FM Jenkins, KY WIFX 94.3 FM Johnson City, TN WETB 790 AM Lancaster, KY WRNZ 105.1 FM Leitchfield, KY WKHG 104.9 FM Lexington WBUL / WLAP 98.1 FM / 630 AM London, KY WWEL 103.9 FM Louisville WHAS 840 AM Madisonville, KY WKTG 93.9 FM Mayfield, KY WLLE 102.1 FM Maysville, KY WFTM 95.9 FM / 1240 AM Monticello, KY WKYM 101.7 FM Morehead, KY WIVY 96.3 FM Morganfield WMSK 101.3 FM Nashville, TN WPRTHD 102.5 HD Owensboro, KY WBKR / WOMI 92.5 FM / 1490 AM Paducah, KY WKYX 94.3 FM / 570 AM Paintsville, KY WSIP 98.9 FM / 1490 AM Pikeville, KY WDHR / WPKE 93.1 FM / 103.1 FM Pineville, KY WRIL 106.3 FM Prestonsburg, KY WQHY / WDOC 95.5 FM / 1310 AM Providence, KY WWKY 104.9 FM Somerset, KY WSEK 93.9 FM / 910 AM Whitesburg, KY WXKQ / WTCW 103.9 FM / 920 AM Williamsburg, KY WEZJ / WEKX 104.3 FM / 102.7 FM UKHealthCare John Calipari Radio Show Monday, November 30, 2020 (7-8 pm) Monday, December 7, 2020 (7-8 pm) (all remaining shows are from 6-7 pm) Monday, December 14, 2020 Monday, December 21, 2020 Monday, December 28, 2020 Monday, January 4, 2021 Monday, January 11, 2021 Monday, January 18, 2021 Wednesday, January 27, 2021 Wednesday, February 3, 2021 Monday, February 8, 2021 Monday, February 15, 2021 Monday, February 22, 2021 Wednesday, March 3, 2021 Monday, March 8, 2021 Monday, March 15, 2021 Monday, March 22, 2021 Monday, March 29, 2021 @UKSportsNetwork 55RETIREDJER SEY S 6-8 n F n Bronx, N.Y. n Cardinal Hayes JAMAL MASHBURN 56 @KentuckyMBB Blue and White The University of Kentucky adopted blue and white as its official colors in 1892. UK students had first decided on blue and light yellow before the Kentucky-Centre foot- ball game Dec. 19, 1891. The yellow was soon dropped from the combination and replaced by white. The particular Kentucky shade of blue, close to royal blue, was determined without ceremony. After settling on the base colors, a student posed the logical question, “What color blue?” Letterman Richard Stoll looked down at his necktie and raised it to the air. The vote was unanimous. Wildcats Nickname The official nickname for the University of Kentucky’s athletics teams is “Wildcats.” The nickname became synonymous with UK shortly after a 6-2 football victory over Illinois on Oct. 9, 1909, on the road. Commandant Carbusier, then head of the military department at old State University (UK), told a group of students in a chapel service following the game that the Ken- tucky football team had “fought like wild- cats.” Later the name Wildcats became more and more popular among UK followers as well as with members of the media. As a re- sult, the nickname was adopted by the Uni- versity. UK Dance Team The University of Kentucky Dance Team helps generate excitement and enthusiasm at Wildcat athletics events. Under the tutelage of Dawn Duncan Walters and assistant coach Andrea Masters, the dance team includes both Blue and White squads. The team won its first national championship at the 2005 national competition sponsored by the Unit- ed Spirit Association. It backed that up with a second-place finish in 2006 and took home third at the 2007 championships. The 2010 squad placed fifth in the Pom Division at UDA 2010 Nationals. Fan-tastic! The Kentucky cheerleaders, band and dance team combine to entertain the nation’s largest and most loyal fan base in college bas- ketball. Sure, Ashley Judd, Tommy Lasorda, Muhammad Ali and Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson steal the attention, but those Big Blue stars are just a few of the Cat fans in at- tendance at UK games. It’s each and every one of the many Kentucky fans who deserve the credit for helping the Wildcats lead the na- tion in attendance 22 times since Rupp Arena opened in 1976-77, including 14 of the last 15 years. And the tremendous fan base is not limit- ed to just Lexington. Each year, Kentucky fans flock to Freedom Hall in Louisville, to fill the arena with more than 20,000 fans for an an- nual “home” game. The Southeastern Conference Tourna- ment? Well, it might as well be called the Kentucky Invitational. March Madness? Nearly the same result. The nation’s largest media contingent follows the Cats from start to finish simply because of the fans’ incessant appetite for information on their Wildcats. Trademark Swoosh Only the best wear Nike. Kentucky not only wears Nike, but is under an all-school contract with the athletic appar- el company. In 1997, UK signed the contract with the popular makers of the trademark swoosh. Thanks to Nike’s extensive research and product development, UK student - -athletes stay on the cutting edge of quality and style with all of their gear. All 22 sports use Nike shoes and equip- ment, and over the course of the contract, the Wildcats will receive millions of dollars worth of clothing, equipment and cash. The men’s basketball team has been recognized by the apparel company as a “Nike Elite” team. Kentucky Traditions 58 @KentuckyMBBKentucky Traditions While clothing adorned with “Kentucky” was already popular throughout the nation, thanks to Nike and its international market- ing reach, Kentucky’s blue and white can now be found worldwide. Cawood’s Court Prior to the UK-Louisville game on Dec. 29, 2001, the court at Rupp Arena was named “Cawood’s Court” in honor of Cawood Led- ford, the beloved “Voice of the Wildcats” for 39 years (1953-92). Ledford passed away in Sep- tember 2001, after a long battle with cancer. The ceremonies included the unveiling of a logo courtside, not far from where Ledford called the action. Also included in the cere- mony were donations by two area business- es to the Cawood Ledford Scholarship Fund, established in 1992 to assist former student- athletes in obtaining their degrees. The Wildcat The Wildcat mascot originated during the 1976-77 academic year at UK. Gary Tanner was the original Wildcat, dancing and entertaining thousands of UK fans at Commonwealth Stadium and Rupp Arena during athletics events. A few years later, he was joined by an- other Cat — walking on stilts — who made his appearance during UK’s twin tower era of Melvin Turpin and Sam Bowie. Today, both the Wildcat and his sidekick, Scratch, attend each football and basketball game, several academic functions and gen- erally serve as friendly ambassadors for the University. Scratch Scratch joined the cheerleading squad in the mid ’90s in conjunction with the UK Kids’ Club, but today he has become almost as recognizable as the Wildcat. The lovable face of UK Athletics gar- nered national attention after being named to the 2003 Capital One Mascot All-Ameri- ca team, an honor he earned again in 2004. Senior Day Senior Day at Kentucky has become one of the most celebrated ceremonies in col- lege basketball. Honoring its senior class, UK’s event is one of the most elaborate and moving programs of its kind. The pregame ceremony begins with player introductions. Once they have all burst through banners bearing their likenesses, their families join them at center court. Then the state song, “My Old Kentucky Home,” is sung as the home crowd bids farewell. UK Cheerleaders Rooting on the Wildcats every game are the award-winning UK Cheerleaders. Under the direction of adviser T. Lynn Williamson and coach Jomo Thompson, the UK Cheerleaders have become the mod- el cheerleading squad in the nation. Since 1985, UK has earned the Universal Cheer Association national championship an im- pressive 18 times. The squad has been run- ner-up five times. UK Pep Band With more than 100 members, the Uni- versity of Kentucky pep band is one of the largest in the nation. Clad in its recognizable blue and white outfits, the pep band is directed by Scott-Lee Atchison. Performing at both home football and basketball games, the UK pep band has been named by Southern Living as one of the “top 10 bands in the South.” @UKSportsNetwork 59Next >