Bio Blast: 2026 four-star point guard Mason Williams

A new recruiting target has emerged for Mark Pope and Kentucky men’s basketball.

As reported on Tuesday by Jacob Polacheck of KSR+, four-star point guard Mason Williams is set to take an official visit to Kentucky on Wednesday, March 25. For those without a calendar nearby, that would be today. Ranked No. 124 overall in the 2026 cycle by Rivals, the 6-foot-2 Williams expects to be in Lexington throughout the day as he discovers more about the Wildcats and Pope’s program.

Kentucky does not currently have a high school player committed for the future.

While Williams is learning more about UK, we’re here to give you a better idea of who he is as a basketball player and where he comes from. KSR’s latest Bio Blast takes a closer look at the soon-to-be college hooper.

The son of former NBA player Mo Williams

Williams has good basketball genes. His father is Mo Williams, who played 13 seasons in the NBA for seven different franchises. Mo Williams is best known for suiting up alongside LeBron James during the latter’s first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Williams was tabbed an NBA All-Star in the 2008-09 season as a 26-year-old. Cleveland went on to play in the Eastern Conference Finals that season, with Williams averaging 17.8 points and 4.1 assists per outing across 81 games played.

Prior to playing in the league, Williams was a budding star at Alabama under then head-coach Mark Gottfried. A former Mississippi Mr. Basketball winner in 2001, he was named SEC Freshman of the Year during the 2001-02 season. The following season saw him named to the All-SEC Third Team before forgoing his final two college seasons for the pro route. He was a late second-round pick by the Utah Jazz in 2003.

After his NBA career wrapped up following the 2016-17 season, Mo Williams went into coaching. He was an assistant at Cal State Northridge (2018-20) before taking over as head coach at Alabama State (2020-22). He resigned after two seasons, posting an overall record of 13-35. Soon after, Jackson State hired him as head coach, a position he’s held ever since. Williams has led the Tigers to an overall record of 56-74 in his four seasons without any postseason appearances. Jackson State came to Rupp Arena during Pope’s first season in 2024-25, a 108-59 win for Kentucky.

Mo Williams’ connection to Jackson State is important…

A former Jackson State commit

Mason Williams was originally committed to his dad at Jackson State. He announced an offer from the Tigers all the way back in June 2024. He went on to earn offers from the likes of Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin, New Mexico State, and Washington in May 2025. Memphis and Ole Miss extended scholarships in the following months. Williams ultimately committed to his father’s program in October 2025, but backed off that decision by December.

Mason Williams is committed to play for his dad, NBA Champion & All-Star Mo Williams, at Jackson State 🔥👀 @MaseWill5 @mowilliams

He’ll also be suiting up alongside his brother Mike. Family ties. 🤞🤞 @GoJSUTigersMBB https://t.co/rBdxlcXwVB pic.twitter.com/zwlpMSCeP8

— SLAM University (@slam_university) November 27, 2025

Why? Williams had a highly productive fall in 2025, one that saw him lead Tennessee Collegiate to a win over Prolific Prep and later push himself up the national rankings. He also performed well in the NBPA Top 100 Camp over the summer. Bigger schools than Jackson State began reaching out and offering.

Williams announced an offer from Texas Tech on December 1, just hours after he decommitted from Jackson State. At the time of his decommitment from the Tigers, Williams told Travis Branham of 247Sports that “Growing up, I was a big SEC fan, so hopefully SEC schools call and truly recruit me well enough to go to their school.”

A native of Mississippi, Ole Miss was the first SEC school to reach out to Williams. Kentucky has yet to officially extend him an offer, but the Wildcats are clearly interested. Pope said just this week that UK had issues with the point guard position in 2025-26. It does not seem coincidental that a point guard is now visiting campus a couple of days later.

What Mason Williams brings to the floor

Over the summer, Williams played AAU ball in Puma’s PRO16 League for Sipp United. He played his senior high school season for Tennessee Collegiate. Per his school’s website, he averaged 15.1 points, 5.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.5 steals per outing in 2025-26 while shooting 41.2 percent from deep (across an eight-game sample size against quality competition).

Williams is a smooth-playing floor general who can wiggle his way into the paint while also knocking down tough shots from deep and the mid-range. He has an obvious feel for the game as a passer.

“Mason Williams was perhaps the breakout player of the event,” Rivals’ Jamie Shaw wrote after the CIBA Fall Showcase in October. The 6-foot-1 lead guard simply applied consistent pressure on the opposing team. Whether by planting two feet in the paint or delivering a penetrating pass to an open teammate, Williams was very productive.

“He is the son of former NBA guard Mo Williams, and he plays a game where you can see he has been around the game a lot. However, it was his consistent aggression, but also the control, that really brought the production.”

The transfer portal window does not open until April. Kentucky will need to replace its top two players from last season, Otega Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen, both guards. UK has not seen much luck with this year’s high school recruiting class and just saw one of the staff’s top recruiters, Jason Hart, take another job.

Mason Williams would not fix all the problems, but he’s someone the Big Blue Nation should begin paying closer attention to.

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