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Santa Clara guard Jake Ensminger trolls Kentucky fans with Jack Gohlke mention

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs03/19/26grant_grubbs_

Santa Clara guard Jake Ensminger is poking a sore spot for Kentucky ahead of his team’s first-round matchup against the Wildcats. While visiting Santa Clara’s locker room on Thursday, a media member asked Ensminger who his favorite March Madness player of all time is. After naming his family members who previously competed in the NCAA Tournament, Ensminger mentioned a name all too familiar to Kentucky fans: Jack Gohlke.

Gohlke became a March Madness legend in 2024 when he exploded for 32, including 10 made 3-pointers, to lead Oakland to a first-round upset over UK. While Oakland suffered a second-round exit to NC State, Gohlke’s insane shooting performance has remained a staple in NCAA Tournament highlight tapes.

Jack Gohlke’s unforgettable showing ultimately led to the collapse of the John Calipari era at Kentucky. Following the season, Calipari accepted an offer to coach at Arkansas and UK hired Mark Pope.

Now, Ensminger is hungry to carve his own name into March Madness lore. Engsminger is averaging 6.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game this season, while shooting 53.6% from the field and 38.8% from beyond the arc.

He’s only connected on 33 3-pointers this season, but anything is possible in March. Perhaps he could be the next player to end a Kentucky season prematurely. Wildcats head coach Mark Pope certainly isn’t taking 10-seed Santa Clara lightly.

“Their team is a great team,” Pope said. “They have tremendous length. They’re shooting the ball at a tremendous clip. They’ll put five guys on the floor that all really shoot it. Their backcourt is lethal from two. They play a lot of Barkley basketball. They’re starting three is 6-7, really physical, is almost 60% from two, and shooting a good percentage from three, and just big.

“Their front line three, four, and five is so big, and their guards are really effective to get downhill and score from eight feet, just as well as from the three-point line. So, a good team. They’ve earned their way into the NCAA tournament. Every team that you play here is going to be really, really good. And so it’s gonna be a great challenge for us too, can’t wait to get to it.”

Kentucky and Santa Clara will square off at 12:15 p.m. ET on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The game will air live on CBS.