Kentucky brought in five players via the transfer portal who will help the Wildcats have one of the best rosters in the nation.

Neil Blackmon of Saturday Down South wrote an article grading all of the SEC teams based on how they did in the transfer portal, and the Wildcats earned an A+. Mark Pope’s team was the highest graded team in the portal according to Blackmon.

Blackmon had this to say about Pope’s transfer portal class, “Big Blue Nation is brimming with anticipation after a monster portal haul that should give Mark Pope the deepest bench in America. Sure, sources tell SDS Kentucky spent around $17.5 million dollars to land this class, a staggering figure even by current NIL standards. But this wasn’t a thoughtless spending spree. Mark Pope had a plan, and this roster makes sense as a collective unit.”

Coach Pope spent a lot of NIL money, but it got the Wildcats one of the best rosters in the sport and made his team one of the frontrunners to cut down the nets in Indianapolis next season.

Coach Pope has a team that won’t see a lot of drop off once he goes to his bench, which was not the case last season. The Wildcats will once again be playing in an SEC that is primed to be the best conference in college hoops, which will have Pope’s team tested in time for the NCAA Tournament.

Mark Pope knocked the transfer portal out of the ballpark, and this grade from Saturday Down South proves just how good the Wildcats will be.