Kentucky WR Hardley Gilmore Enters the Transfer Portal

Kentucky is retooling its roster as Will Stein prepares for his first season as the Wildcats’ head coach. It’s leading another wide receiver to seek out greener pastures via the transfer portal.

On3’s Pete Nakos reports that Hardley Gilmore is entering the transfer portal. After spending two years at Kentucky, the pass-catcher from Florida has two years of eligibility remaining.

Even though he was in Kentucky for a pair of fall seasons, this is his second transfer portal soiree. Gilmore left the program last spring to play for Nebraska, then returned to Lexington a few months later for his sophomore campaign.

Gilmore was Kentucky’s second-leading receiver in 2025, catching 28 passes for 313 yards and a touchdown. He caught six passes for 153 yards and a score during his true freshman season.

A speedy receiver from Muck City in Central Florida, Gilmore was a big-time recruiting win for the Cats. The Wildcats hosted him for an official visit one summer, and soon after, the four-star talent reclassified to the 2024 recruiting class.

The former coaching staff loved his work ethic and potential, but the production was inconsistent. Kentucky is looking for studs to feed in the transfer portal and they’re top two targets are Malcolm Simmons and DeAndre Moore, who each visited campus within the last week.

Kentucky Football Players in the Transfer Portal

Gilmore is the second Kentucky wide receiver to enter the transfer portal on Wednesday, following freshman Cam Miller. So far, we know of 18 Kentucky football players who will be looking for a new place to play college football this offseason. The portal window officially closes Jan. 16.

• LB Landyn Watson (Committed to Kansas on Jan. 4)
• EDGE Steven Soles Jr.
• QB Stone Saunders
• WR David Washington Jr.
• WR Preston Bowman (Committed to Ohio)
• DT Austin Ramsey (Committed to Kansas State on Jan. 6)
• WR Troy Stellato
• EDGE Javeon Campbell
• CB DJ Waller Jr. (Committed to Louisville on Jan. 3)
• EDGE Jacob Smith (Committed to Louisville on Jan. 6)
• DL Jerod Smith II (Committed to Louisville on Jan. 6)
• QB Cutter Boley (Committed to Arizona State on Jan. 3)
• WR Montavin Quisenberry
• RB Dante Dowdell
• S Cam Dooley
• RB Jamarion Wilcox
• WR Cameron Miller
• WR Hardley Gilmore

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