Mark Stoops holds press conference ahead of spring football
LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Kentucky Football head coach Mark Stoops spoke with the media Tuesday as the Wildcats get set for spring practice.
'Obviously, we know the season did not go the way any of us wanted to. Certainly, our players, our staff, and myself,' Stoops said. 'Since that day, you know, truly, the next morning it feels like we have not stopped. And that's a good thing. It's an exciting time.'
Mark Stoops holds press conference ahead of spring football
Some big games are ahead in the SEC this week. Here's where Kentucky comes into play
Mikaylah Williams has strong second half as No. 7 LSU rallies over No. 14 Kentucky 65-58
After a 4-8 season in 2024, the program has seen a lot of departures and arrivals from both the coaching staff and players. The Cats have 31 new players on their roster; 20 of those came via the transfer portal, and the other 11 are early enrollees from the high school class of 2025.
'Couldn't be more pleased with what they've done thus far. You know, and just the attitude that they've had in the weight room, attacking the weight room,' Stoops said. 'We just had our first fourth-quarter program where we're really pushing them mentally. and, physically.'
Kentucky swung and missed on some portal additions they brought in a year ago, so this time around the coaching staff has put an emphasis on each position group being more balanced.
Read more of the latest UK sports news
'You know, we weren't deep enough at certain positions,' Stoops said. 'So, we're hanging our hat on specific, you know, people, and maybe they were injured, or maybe, they failed to meet our expectations, and it didn't work out.'
The team is yet to announce the schedule for spring practice or if there will be a Blue-White Spring Game in 2025.
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Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Braylon Mullins helps Indiana All-Stars get best of Kentucky, AAU teammate Malachi Moreno
LEXINGTON, Ky. – It was a struggle. A good play here. A turnover there. It went like for the Indiana All-Stars for most of Friday's game against the Kentucky All-Stars at Lexington Catholic High School. The Kentucky All-Stars led by six points as the clock ticked under eight minutes. Enter Michael Cooper. The Jeffersonville senior guard drilled three consecutive 3-pointers, two on assists from Ben Davis guard Mark Zackery IV and other from Lawrence North's Azavier Robinson, to help the Indiana All-Stars breathe a little easier on their way to a 98-89 victory. 'It's just really being confident in the work I put in to just knock it down,' Cooper said. Indiana All-Stars & softball semistate? 'Just trying to be in both places and give my all' IndyStar Mr. Basketball Braylon Mullins also had a big second half, scoring 13 of his game-high 24 points to lead the Indiana All-Stars its 44th victory in the past 51 games in the series. Indiana leads the all-time series, which dates to 1940, by a count of 106-46. Cooper sparked a much-needed run for Indiana. 'He's won a state championship, so he knows how to win,' Indiana All-Stars coach Marc Urban (Chesterton) said of Cooper. 'I thought we made the extra pass on those shots where he was stepping in and shooting wide-open 3s. And he made big-time plays. That's why he's an Indiana All-Star and why he's going to have a really successful career at Wright State.' Indiana had its hands full with Kentucky's highly touted Malachi Moreno, a 7-1 incoming Kentucky freshman who played AAU basketball with Mullins on Indiana Elite. Moreno, who will not play in the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots and played all but 54 seconds. 'I'm usually seeing him in the same uniform as me,' said Mullins, who will leave for UConn on Monday. 'But there's nothing personal. We were going up the court and chatting and laughing like we were doing in AAU. I'm excited to see what he does at Kentucky, but tonight was fun going against him.' Mullins helped spark the second-half run with a transition 3-pointer, though it seemed like every time Indiana would make a move, Kentucky would have a counter. Vince Dawson, a Morehead State recruit who finished with 21 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the 3-point line, drilled a 3 put Kentucky up eight with 11 minutes left. When Jeffersonville's 6-9 Tre Singleton picked up his fourth foul with 10:26 left, it brought back memories of Mr. Basketball Flory Bidunga fouling out on a technical foul in last year's loss at Kentucky. But Indiana got hot at the right time. 'We had a brutal loss on Wednesday night (against the Junior All-Stars),' Mullins said of the 117-114 loss on his home floor at Greenfield-Central. 'But that run we had at the end of the game just sparked the bench, the players and coaches. We needed that. We made that run and we weren't looking back.' Cooper finished with 21 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the 3-point line. Singleton, his teammate on the Jeffersonville Class 4A state champions, went for 14 points and four rebounds, but was limited to 24 minutes because of foul trouble. His bucket with 3 minutes left pushed Indiana's lead to 86-80 and Kentucky never got any closer. Ben Davis' Zackery added 12 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals. Fishers' Justin Kirby had nine points and four rebounds and the Butler-bound Robinson had eight points, five rebounds and two assists. Mullins finished 10-for-18 from the floor and had six rebounds and two assists. 'He's incredibly talented, as a high IQ and he's a great kid,' Urban said of Mullins. 'It's been fun to get to know him. I know he was frustrated missing those first couple but he just kept sticking with it and that one he hit in transition was big. He made Mr. Basketball plays. He demands so much attention and he opens things up for other people, but he's still able to be efficient.' Indiana played without Cathedral's Brady Koehler. The Notre Dame recruit was on the bench but not in uniform. It was the first win in Kentucky since 2022 for Indiana, which lost 94-90 in Owensboro two years ago and 103-82 in Lexington last year. 'There's nowhere else you'd rather do it than Gainbridge Fieldhouse,' Mullins said. 'They are going to have a little bit different team without Malachi playing but we're not going to take anything for granted. We're going to come out and play like we did tonight and I think we'll be good tomorrow.'

Indianapolis Star
3 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana All-Stars and softball semistate? 'Just trying to be in both places and give my all'
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jacklynn Hosier is pulling the Deion Sanders-like double this week. Hosier played in the Indiana All-Stars basketball team's 84-73 loss to the Kentucky at Lexington Catholic High School on Friday night, then drove home with her parents (her father, Mickey, was an Indiana All-Star in 1996), to prepare for Alexandria's Class 2A softball semistate game on Saturday morning at Kokomo. If Alexandria wins that softball game against Andrean, she is going to try to make it back in time for the Tigers semistate championship Saturday night in Kokomo. That would be after the Indiana All-Stars play the rematch game against Kentucky at 5 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Indiana All-Stars girls history: Which schools have most? Players list by school 'I'm going to need like a police escort to get back to the game at 7 when we win,' Hosier said. 'I have confidence. It's going to be busy, but it's fun. I'm just appreciating it and making the most of it.' Hosier, a Vermont basketball recruit, plays shortstop for the Alexandria softball team, which won the regional for the first time in the program's history. She made a deal — and put it writing — with softball coach Jared Bourf, the basketball assistant, that she would play softball this season. She did not play last year because of her AAU basketball spring season. 'Even though softball is not really my sport, I just want to be there for my team,' Hosier said. 'I want to help them in any way that I can. And I want to be here for this team, too, because not many people get this opportunity with the All-Stars, so I'm really grateful for it. I'm just trying to be in both places and give my all with softball and basketball.' It might help her cause of she could use a helicopter to get to Kokomo like Deion Sanders did in 1992 to get from his NFL game with the Atlanta Falcons to a Cincinnati Reds' playoff baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. On Tuesday, she practiced with the Indiana All-Stars at Marian University, then played with her softball team's 18-3 win over Lapel in the regional at Lapel. She celebrated with her team, riding the firetruck through town, then returned to Marian around midnight. All she has had to miss so far is about 30 minutes of basketball practice, though she will miss walkthrough on Saturday for the softball game. 'My dad just told me to enjoy it,' said Hosier, who played for her dad in high school. 'It goes by fast, and you aren't going to experience anything like it. It's been super fun. The girls have been so fun to hang around with, even we are just eating or playing cards or whatever. It's been really fun.' The Indiana All-Stars will be looking to split the series with Kentucky in Saturday's return game after a frustrating loss on Friday night. Indiana gave up 26 offense rebounds to Kentucky, which was led by 28 points and 11 rebounds from Miss Basketball and LSU recruit ZaKiyah Johnson. The Indiana All-Stars trailed 73-57 with 5 minutes remaining before rallying with 3-pointers from Monique Mitchell, Addison Baxter and Jaylah Lampley to cut the Kentucky All-Stars' lead to 73-68 with 3:35 left. Another basket by South Bend Washington's Mitchell got Indiana within 75-72 with 1:53 to play. But that would be as close as Indiana would get. A three-point play by Louisville recruit Peyton Bradley, who burned the All-Stars for 21 points, sealed the deal. 'I definitely think homecourt advantage is a huge thing, especially with Kentucky and Indiana,' said IndyStar Miss Basketball Maya Makalusky of Hamilton Southeastern, who finished with a team-high 18 points. 'I think we should have been more prepared for that, knowing they are going to get every call, and the refs are going to be on their side. Our energy, too, whether the calls are going against us or not, is going to be important. And rebounding is a huge thing. They had way too many offensive rebounds.' Kentucky was 17-for-27 from the free-throw line, while Indiana was 7-for-9. Columbia City's Baxter added 10 points and six assists, Lawrence Central's Laila Abdurraqib had 10 points and Mitchell finished with 12 points and five rebounds. The all-time series is now 55-42 in favor of Indiana. Kentucky will be going for its first sweep since 2012. 'I think most important (Saturday) is just coming out and having fun and having that energy,' Makalusky said. 'Coming into this, we were the underdog. If we get better rebounding, tomorrow will be our game.'


Associated Press
6 hours ago
- Associated Press
Jake Munroe hits 2 out, drives in 5 and Louisville rips Miami 8-1 in super regional opener
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jake Munroe hit two home runs and drove in five runs, leading Louisville to an 8-1 victory over Miami on Friday in the opening game of the Louisville Super Regional. Louisville took a 2-0 lead on two swings in the second inning — a first-pitch leadoff home run by Garret Pike followed by a solo home run by Munroe on a 2-0 count. Louisville starter Patrick Forbes (4-2) breezed through 5 1/3 innings, with the exception of the third inning when he faced a bases-loaded jam with one out. He gave up a sacrifice fly by Renzo Gonzalez, then got the third out on a strikeout. Louisville loaded the bases with one out in the third and scored two runs on a throwing error by the pitcher. The next batter, Munroe, followed with a three-run home run to left for a 7-1 lead. He picked up his fifth RBI with a sacrifice fly in the fourth. Max Galvin had three hits for Miami. AJ Ciscar (6-2) allowed seven runs, six earned, in 2 1/3 innings. First pitch was delayed by a weather for about half an hour. There was another weather delay with two out in the bottom of the eighth. When play resumed, Zion Rose flied out to end the eighth then Miami went down 1-2-3 on 11 pitches in the ninth. This is the seventh super regional hosted by Louisville. The Cardinals have appeared in 10 super regionals overall. Miami is playing in the super regional round for the 13th time and the first since 2016. The Hurricanes (34-26) and Cardinals (39-21) finished ninth and 10th in the ACC regular season. ___ AP college sports: