Where former Kentucky Wildcats will play college basketball in 2023-24

LEXINGTON — As John Calipari constructed Kentucky basketball‘s roster for the 2023-24 season, the Wildcats added only one player via the transfer portal: former West Virginia forward Tre Mitchell.

It wasn’t for lack of trying. UK coaches also pursued Michigan star Hunter Dickinson and San Diego State’s Keshad Johnson and were in contact with nearly a dozen other players who ultimately chose other schools.

While the transfer portal gave Kentucky a potentially key piece of next season’s squad in Mitchell, it took away four players from the 2022-23 roster. They aren’t alone — seven other former UK players are on rosters at other schools next season.

Here’s a look at 11 ex-Wildcats who will play elsewhere during the 2023-24 campaign:

Dontaie Allen (G/F, Western Kentucky)

Dontaie Allen entered the transfer portal following the 2021-22 season after struggling to break into the UK rotation during his three-year career. The former Kentucky Mr. Basketball redshirted as a freshman after an ACL tear brought his high school career to a premature end. During the next two seasons with the Wildcats, he appeared in 40 games but made just one start. Allen averaged 3.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per game for the Wildcats before transferring to Western Kentucky. Playing in 26 games (11 starts) for the Hilltoppers last season, Allen averaged 9.3 points per game on 79-of-193 shooting (40.9%).

Devin Askew (G, Cal)

Devin Askew transferred from Kentucky after just one season in which he averaged 6.5 points, 2.9 assists and two turnovers during the 2020-21 campaign. He also was one-and-done at Texas in 2021-22, playing in 34 games but making only three starts. Askew averaged just 2.1 points and 1.3 assists an outing with the Longhorns before transferring once again and joining Cal. He became a standout for the Golden Bears: Askew was leading the team in points (15.5 per game) before he underwent season-ending hernia surgery in February.

Jemarl Baker (G, New Mexico)

Where hasn’t Jemarl Baker played at this point? He joined New Mexico in April, marking his fourth school in seven seasons. An injury forced him to redshirt at UK as a freshman in 2017-18 and he played sparingly for the Wildcats the following season. He transferred to Arizona prior to the 2019-20 campaign, where he spent two seasons before leaving for Fresno State. A knee injury limited him to just five games in 2021-22, but he started all 28 games for the Bulldogs last season, averaging 12.5 points per game and nailing a team-high 55 triples. He’ll now play for Rick Pitino‘s son, Richard Pitino, at New Mexico.

Keion Brooks (F, Washington)

Though Keion Brooks was a five-star signee in the 2019 cycle, he didn’t become a one-and-done draftee at UK. He led the team in rebounds (6.8 a night) as a sophomore during the Wildcats’ dismal 9-16 season in 2020-21 and then started 33 games, averaging 10.8 points an outing, in 2021-22 before entering the transfer portal and enrolling at Washington. He’s…