Mark Pope will host a Bluegrass native for a visit on Friday

Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope has a handful of roster spots still to fill this offseason. He’ll host a transfer portal prospect beginning on Friday.

Washington State transfer Jerone Morton is scheduled to arrive for his visit to UK later today. A native of Winchester who won a state championship with George Rogers Clark in 2022 as tournament MVP, Morton has one year of college eligibility remaining and could use it to return home. DePaul, George Mason, and Texas A&M are among the schools he’s also hearing from.

“We just love Kentucky, man,” Derrick Morton, Jerone’s dad, told Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ earlier this week. “He was born and raised here. That’s been his lifetime dream to play at Kentucky.”

As a junior at Washington State, Morton averaged 7.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 24.9 minutes per outing in 2025-26. The 6-foot-5 guard started 29 of his 32 games played for the Cougars, shooting 43.8 percent from the floor and 38.8 percent from deep. He’s considered a three-star portal prospect by On3.

Morton actually began his college career at Morehead State for two seasons. He played 34 games for the Eagles as a true freshman, but wasn’t too productive. That changed as a sophomore in 2024-25, though. Morton averaged 10.4 points, 3.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 29.5 minutes per outing on shooting splits of 45.0/37.7/72.0. He scored in double-figures 14 times while shooting 29-77 from deep on the season.

From there, Morton transferred out west to Washington State. Although his overall numbers dipped slightly, he still shot 31-80 on three-pointers and was a key piece to the Cougars’ rotation. Morton is not a high usage player, making an impact through his shooting (his range goes beyond the NBA three-point line) and good decision-making on offense.

Kentucky currently has nine players in place for the 2026-27 roster, leaving six possible spots to fill. Could Morton be the next addition?

It’s Transfer Portal SZN on KSR+

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