The 2026 Kentucky Wildcats football team represents the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wildcats are led by first-year head coach Will Stein. Kentucky plays home games at Kroger Field located in Lexington, Kentucky.
Offseason Staff changes Following the conclusion of the 2025 season, head coach Mark Stoops was relieved of his duties after the Wildcats finished bowl-ineligible for the second consecutive year. Stoops concluded his tenure at Kentucky with an overall record of 82–80, leaving as the winningest head coach in the program's history.
On December 1, 2025, Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart announced the hiring of Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein as the program's next head coach.
Following the staff transition, defensive line coach Anwar Stewart was the sole assistant retained from the previous regime. Head coach Will Stein's new appointments included offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman. The reconstructed coaching staff was notably characterized by its youth, with a majority of the new personnel under the age of 40.
NFL draft
On December 17, 2025, guard Jalen Farmer declared for the 2026 NFL draft as an underclassman with one year of eligibility remaining.
The Wildcats had four players selected in the Draft. Guard Jalen Farmer was the first Wildcat off the board, taken in the fourth round by the Indianapolis Colts. He was followed closely by senior center Jager Burton, who was selected 153rd overall by the Green Bay Packers. In the fifth round, the Detroit Lions traded up 13 spots to draft wide receiver Kendrick Law with the 168th overall pick. Running back Seth McGowan concluded the draft class for Kentucky, being reunited with teammate Jalen Farmer after being selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round.
4 113 Jalen Farmer G Indianapolis Colts 5 153 Jager Burton C Green Bay Packers 5 168 Kendrick Law WR Detroit Lions 7 237 Seth McGowan RB Indianapolis Colts
Departures
2026 Kentucky offseason departuresNamePos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes Jager Burton C 6'4" 315 Senior Lexington, KY Drafted: Round 5, Pick 153 (Green Bay Packers) Jalen Farmer G 6'5" 312 Senior Covington, GA Drafted: Round 4, Pick 113 (Indianapolis Colts) Josh Kattus TE 6'4" 261 Senior Cincinnati, OH Signed as undrafted free agent (NFL) Kendrick Law WR 6'0" 201 Senior Shreveport, LA Drafted: Round 5, Pick 168 (Detroit Lions) Ja'Mori Maclin WR 5'11" 185 Graduate Kirkwood, MO Signed as undrafted free agent (NFL) Seth McGowan RB 6'0" 220 Senior Mesquite, TX Drafted: Round 7, Pick 237 (Indianapolis Colts) Daveren Rayner LB 6'2" 215 Graduate Indianapolis, IN Signed as undrafted free agent (NFL)
Incoming Over the offseason, Kentucky added twenty-nine players from the transfer portal. According to 247Sports, Kentucky had the No. 9 ranked transfer class in the country, as of January 23, 2026.
Incoming transfersName Pos. Height/weight Class Hometown Prev. school Sources Hasaan Sykes CB 6'0", 185 Jr-Tr Charlotte, NC Western Carolina Mark Manfred III CB 6'1", 166 Fr-Tr St. Louis, MO Missouri Ahmad Breaux DL 6'3", 278 Jr-Tr New Orleans, LA LSU Dominic Wiseman DL 6'2", 300 Sr-Tr Mobile, AL South Alabama Jamarrion Harkless DL 6'3", 345 Jr-Tr Indianapolis, IN Purdue Antonio O'Berry EDGE 6'6", 240 Gr-Tr Charlotte, NC Gardner-Webb Tyler Thomas EDGE 6'5", 259 South Alabama Coleton Price IOL 6'3", 318 Sr-Tr Round Rock, TX Baylor Max Anderson IOL 6'5", 311 So-Tr Nashville, TN Tennessee Tegra Tshabola IOL 6'6", 322 Sr-Tr West Chester, OH Ohio State Adam Zouagui K 5'11", 188 Sr-Tr Tampa, FL South Florida Elijah Barnes LB 6'1", 244 Dallas, TX Texas Tavion Wallace LB 6'1", 239 So-Tr Little Rock, AR Arkansas Lance Heard OT 6'6", 330 Sr-Tr Nashville, TN Tennessee Mark Robinson OT 6'5", 320 Jr-Tr El Paso, TX UTEP Olaus Alinen OT 6'6", 322 So-Tr Helsinki Finland Alabama JacQai Long QB 6'2", 205 So-Tr Atlanta, GA Marshall Kenny Minchey QB 6'2", 208 Jr-Tr Hendersonville, TN Notre Dame CJ Baxter RB 6'1", 227 Orlando, FL Texas Jovantae Barnes RB 6'0", 211 Sr-Tr Las Vegas, NV Oklahoma Aaron Gates S 6'0", 198 Jr-Tr Fort Lauderdale, FL Florida Cyrus Reyes S 6'1", 200 Jr-Tr Miami, FL Mississippi State Jesse Anderson S 6'0", 185 Jr-Tr Pittsburgh, PA Pittsburgh Jordan Castell S 6'2", 213 Sr-Tr West Palm Beach, FL Florida Brock Coffman WR 6'0", 180 Fr-Tr Lexington, KY Louisville Ja'Kayden Ferguson WR 6'2", 187 Houston, TX Arkansas Nic Anderson WR 6'4", 208 Sr-Tr LSU Shane Carr WR 6'2", 190 Sr-Tr Southern Utah Xavier Daisy WR 6'3", 210 Jr-Tr Mobile, AL UAB
Roster
Schedule
Sources:
Rankings
Game summaries vs No. 9 (FCS) Youngstown State
Statistics YSUUK First downs 20 24 Plays–yards 66–305 61–506 Rushes–yards 28–59 34–205 Passing yards 246 301 Passing: –– 24–38–0 18–27–0 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 30:08 29:52 Team Category Player Statistics Youngstown State Passing Beau Brungard 23/25, 243 yards, TD Rushing Beau Brungard 12 carries, 29 yards Receiving Lynn Wyche-El 7 receptions, 111 yards, TD Kentucky Passing Kenny Minchey 18/27, 301 yards, 4 TD Rushing Jason Patterson 11 carries, 78 yards Receiving Kenny Darby 3 receptions, 74 yards, TD
vs No. 12 Alabama
Statistics ALAUK First downs 21 14 Plays–yards 63–343 64–209 Rushes–yards 40–155 32–63 Passing yards 188 146 Passing: comp–att–int 16–23–2 18–32–1 Turnovers 3 3 Time of possession 32:14 27:46 Team Category Player StatisticsAlabama Passing Keelon Russell 16/23, 188 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Daniel Hill 18 carries, 104 yards, TD Receiving Lotzeir Brooks 5 receptions, 54 yardsKentucky Passing Kenny Minchey 18/31, 146 yards, TD, INT Rushing Jason Patterson 11 carries, 53 yards Receiving Willie Rodrigues 8 receptions, 49 yards
at No. 9 Texas A&M
Statistics UKTAMU First downs 18 23 Plays–yards 54–408 84–423 Rushes–yards 36–255 35–187 Passing yards 252 236 Passing: comp–att–int 14–18–0 26–49–2 Turnovers 0 2 Time of possession 29:35 30:25 Team Category Player StatisticsKentucky Passing Kenny Minchey 14/18, 252 yards, 2 TD Rushing CJ Baxter 19 carries, 87 yards, 2 TD Receiving DJ Miller 5 receptions, 96 yardsTexas A&M Passing Marcel Reed 26/49, 236 yards, TD, INT Rushing Marcel Reed 10 carries, 80 yards, TD Receiving Mario Craver 11 receptions, 119 yards
vs South Alabama
Statistics USAUK First downs 19 26 Plays–yards 74–354 68–567 Rushes–yards 31–88 42–390 Passing yards 266 177 Passing: comp–att–int 23–43–2 19–26–0 Turnovers 2 2 Time of possession 28:19 31:41 Team Category Player StatisticsSouth Alabama Passing Jared Hollins 23/43, 266 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing PJ Martin 9 carries, 48 yards, TD Receiving Jeremiah Jones-Thomas 6 receptions, 91 yards, TDKentucky Passing Kenny Minchey 19/25, 177 yards, TD Rushing CJ Baxter 16 carries, 149 yards, TD Receiving Kenny Darby 3 receptions, 43 yards
at South Carolina
Statistics UKSC First downs 25 21 Plays–yards 78-394 74-458 Rushes–yards 37-122 37-232 Passing yards 272 226 Passing: comp–att–int 28-41-0 20-37-0 Turnovers 0 2 Time of possession 33:29 26:31 Team Category Player StatisticsKentucky Passing Kenny Minchey 28/41, 272 yards, 3 TD Rushing CJ Baxter 13 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD Receiving Kenny Darby 12 receptions, 96 yards, 1 TD South Carolina Passing LaNorris Sellers 20/36, 226 yards, 2 TD Rushing LaNorris Sellers 17 carries, 147 yds Receiving Mazeo Bennett Jr. 8 receptions, 92 yds
vs No. 10 LSU
Statistics LSUUK First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: comp–att–int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player StatisticsLSU Passing Rushing Receiving Kentucky Passing Rushing Receiving
at Oklahoma
Statistics UKOU First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: comp–att–int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player StatisticsKentucky Passing Rushing Receiving Oklahoma Passing Rushing Receiving
vs Vanderbilt (rivalry)
Statistics VANUK First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: comp–att–int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player StatisticsVanderbilt Passing Rushing Receiving Kentucky Passing Rushing Receiving
at Tennessee (rivalry)
Statistics UKTENN First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: comp–att–int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player StatisticsKentucky Passing Rushing Receiving Tennessee Passing Rushing Receiving
vs Florida (rivalry)
Statistics FLAUK First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: comp–att–int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player StatisticsFlorida Passing Rushing Receiving Kentucky Passing Rushing Receiving
at Missouri
Statistics UKMIZ First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: comp–att–int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player StatisticsKentucky Passing Rushing Receiving Missouri Passing Rushing Receiving
vs Louisville (Governor's Cup)
Statistics LOUUK First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: comp–att–int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player StatisticsLouisville Passing Rushing Receiving Kentucky Passing Rushing Receiving
References