Alex Wilkins commits to Kentucky Wildcats Basketball

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 20: Alex Wilkins #10 of the Furman Paladins dribbles the ball against the UConn Huskies in the second half during the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena on March 20, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Mark Pope is working overtime to piece together a Kentucky Basketball roster that currently looks alarmingly bare.

With only Zoom Diallo, Reece Potter, Kam Williams, and Trent Noah officially locked in for next season, and Malachi Moreno exploring the draft while Braydon Hawthorne’s status remains unofficial (he told the Herald-Leader he’d be back a month ago, but no announcement from the school), the Wildcats desperately needed a jolt of offensive firepower.

They just got it. Furman standout Alex Wilkins has officially committed to Kentucky, bringing a high-upside scoring punch to a roster that needed it. On3’s Joe Tipton broke the news first.

One of the top mid-major players in college basketball, Wilkins will now likely become part of Kentucky’s revamped starting backcourt next season alongside Diallo.

Alex Wilkins had a national arrival

If you didn’t know the name Alex Wilkins during the regular season, you probably learned it in March. The 6-5 freshman guard put the country on notice by dropping 21 points in Furman’s thrilling upset bid against the UConn Huskies.

While the Paladins ultimately fell short, Wilkins displayed a natural, unteachable scoring ability that immediately made him a high-priority target for power conference programs.

Wilkins is far more than just a volume shooter, though. At 6-foot-5, he has fantastic positional size for a primary ball-handler, and he uses it to generate offense for his teammates. He finished his freshman campaign averaging an impressive 17.8 points and 4.7 assists across 35 games.

In Mark Pope’s system, having a tall guard who can read the floor and facilitate is a big bonus that Kentucky didn’t have last year. Aberdeen led the team in assists, and he was under 4 a game.