Jaland Lowe -- one of the top guards in the NCAA transfer portal -- commits to Kentucky

Cameron Drummond, Lexington Herald-Leader on Apr 5, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have picked up their second commitment from the NCAA transfer portal.

On Saturday morning, UK got a pledge from former Pittsburgh sophomore guard Jaland Lowe to come to Lexington for the 2025-26 season.

Lowe — a 6-foot-3 guard who is originally from Texas — previously played two seasons at Pitt.

Last season, Lowe averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Additionally, Lowe shot 88.6% on free throws and averaged an impressive 35.5 minutes played per game. One of the immediate knocks against Lowe, though, is that he only shot 26.6% on 3-pointers last season. Lowe averaged five attempts per game from 3-point range during the 2024-25 season. As a freshman at Pitt, Lowe shot 35.2% from deep.

Kentucky broke a team record last season for the most 3-pointers made in one campaign.

Lowe was a third-team All-ACC selection with the Panthers last season, as Pitt went 17-15 overall. He started and played in 31 of Pitt’s 32 games, only missing one game on Feb. 15 against Miami (Fla.) due to a head injury. This marked the only game Lowe has missed in his college career.

Lowe — who confirmed his transfer portal commitment to Kentucky on Instagram on Saturday morning — projects to be Kentucky’s starting point guard next season, filling the role vacated by Lamont Butler.

According to college basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa, Lowe is ranked as the No. 16 player available in the portal, as of Saturday morning. Miyakawa has Lowe ranked as the 10th-best guard in the portal.

According to KenPom, Lowe ranks in the top 60 in the nation in assist rate. Lowe also boasts some of the best marks nationally when it comes to free-throw shooting percentage, steals percentage and fouls drawn per 40 minutes.

Lowe was originally a four-star high school prospect in the 2023 recruiting class.

Lowe is now the second player from the portal to commit to Pope and the Wildcats for next season. He joins former Tulane freshman wing Kam Williams, who committed to Kentucky on March 28, just hours before UK’s 2024-25 season ended with a loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

Lowe’s commitment to Kentucky came during an NCAA “dead period.” College coaches currently aren’t allowed to meet in person with recruits, on or off campus.

This dead period lasts through April 10, which means April 11 is the next day that college coaches will be allowed to bring recruits on campus and hit the road themselves to meet with potential new players off campus.

Lowe committed to the Wildcats without taking a recruiting visit to UK.

Kentucky’s newest transfer portal pickup will arrive in Lexington with plenty of playing experience against UK’s biggest rival under his belt. Lowe has played in four career games against Louisville. As a freshman during the 2023-24 season, Lowe had nine points, six rebounds and three assists in a road win at Louisville and 10 points, four rebounds and five assists in a home win over the Cardinals.

Last season, Lowe had 24 points and six assists in a January home loss to Louisville and 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a March road loss to the Cards.

Pope, UK build roster for 2025-26 season

While a wholesale roster reset isn’t expected, Pope has some work to do this offseason to retool the Kentucky roster for the 2025-26 season.

Six players from the 2024-25 UK team are out of NCAA eligibility. Those players are Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jaxson Robinson and Amari Williams. Guard Kerr Kriisa could receive a sixth year of eligibility due to his injury problems, but he has already entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Players from the 2024-25 UK team who could return to the Wildcats next season are freshmen guards Collin Chandler and Travis Perry, freshman forward Trent Noah, sophomore center Brandon Garrison and junior guard Otega Oweh.

UK now has five newcomers in the fold for next season. Those players are transfer portal additions Lowe and Williams, plus incoming high school recruits Jasper Johnson, Acaden Lewis and Malachi Moreno, who recently won a Sweet 16 state championship with Georgetown’s Great Crossing High School. Moreno was a McDonald’s All-American this year.

Kentucky is also still involved in the recruitment of high school senior Nate Ament, a five-star power forward from Virginia.