Stein, Cats adding through portal
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Less than a day after flipping former Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey to Kentucky, Wildcats coaches continued building their 2026 roster through the NCAA transfer portal on what turned out to be a busy Tuesday.
With four more additions, Kentucky is up to eight new faces through the portal — a group that 247Sports currently ranks inside the top 10 of the best transfer classes in the nation.
Minchey, who had committed to Nebraska over the weekend before switching to the Cats on Monday, appeared in six games for the Fighting Irish in 2025 and is considered one of the top transfer quarterbacks in the nation.
Former UK head coach Mark Stoops famously used the transfer portal to find experienced players over the years — most notably quarterbacks Will Levis, Devin Leary and Zach Calzada — and first-year UK coach Will Stein has followed suit with his inaugural recruiting class.
On Tuesday, Kentucky also landed Tennessee offensive lineman Max Anderson, Oklahoma running back Jovantae Barnes, Florida safety Aaron Gates and Purdue defensive tackle Jamarrion Harkless.
They’ll join a group that already includes Gardner-Webb edge rusher Antonio O’Berry, Baylor center Coleton Price and Arkansas linebacker Tavion Wallace.
Minchey and Price are the most coveted prizes so far for UK, as both come in rated as four-star transfers. Every other player is considered a three-star prospect by 247Sports, though all but one were four-star recruits out of high school.
In three seasons at Notre Dame, Minchey completed 23 of 29 pass attempts for 212 yards, along with 96 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground. The 6-foot-2, 208-pounder was in the mix for Notre Dame’s starting job before ultimately losing out to CJ Carr.
“He’s good enough to be the starting quarterback at Notre Dame,” irish coach Marcus Freeman said of Minchey before the season began. “It was a tough decision — the statistics were very similar. At the end of the day, I had to throw it out the window and make it on other factors.
“(Minchey’s) decision-making, arm strength, leadership in his own way — he’s gained more trust from the start of spring ball to now more than anyone in our program.”
Price, a 6-3, 318-pound Texas native, started 31 consecutive games at Baylor and will have one more year of eligibility remaining in Lexington.
Barnes, a 6-foot, 211-pounder from Las Vegas, rushed for 1,236 yards in his first three seasons at Oklahoma but was limited to just four games this past fall in an effort for the Sooners to redshirt him for another year of eligibility.
Gates, a 6-foot, 198-pound Georgia native, played in 10 games for Florida in 2024 but missed most of 2025 with a shoulder injury.
Anderson, a 6-5, 311-pounder from Texas, just wrapped up his redshirt freshman campaign at Tennessee.
Harkless, a 6-3, 345-pound Lexington native, returns to his hometown after spending the last two seasons at Purdue. He previously starred at Frederick Douglass High School.
Kentucky’s defense also got another boost from the return of defensive back Nasir Addison, who entered the transfer portal before later deciding on a return to the Cats.
The NCAA transfer window lasts for 15 days and will close on Jan. 16, with an extended window for National Championship participants. Stein will take over the Cats as soon as his duties as Oregon’s offensive coordinator in the College Football Playoff are over. The Ducks will play top-seeded Indiana in the semifinals at the Peach Bowl on Friday.
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