Tavion Gadson announces return to Kentucky

A young standout on the defensive line will be returning to Kentucky under new head coach Will Stein, adding to the impressive list of retained pieces entering 2026. Tavion Gadson, come on down!

The 6-5, 298-pound tackle out of Savannah, Ga., announced his return to the Wildcats on Tuesday, back following an impressive 28-tackle, 2.5-sack sophomore campaign in Lexington. Suiting up in nine games, he recorded multiple tackles every time out — including four apiece against South Carolina, Georgia and Texas.

He had the second-highest pass rush grade in the SEC among defensive tackles, according to PFF. 

His agency, GSE Worldwide, confirmed he had put pen to paper with UK on a return deal.

After playing in just four games as a true freshman to preserve his redshirt, Gadson went down with a severe injury in spring 2024 and was forced to undergo surgery on his left knee for posterior lateral corner reconstruction, a biceps femoris repair, and fibular collateral ligament repair. He’d come back in 2025 better than ever as a serious contributor on Anwar Stewart’s defensive line, putting him on the watch list for Comeback Player of the Year.

He was originally a four-star, top-300 recruit, according to On3, in the class of 2023. The Wildcats earned his signature after fighting off the likes of Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee, Miami (FL), Auburn, Louisville, Nebraska, Vanderbilt and Indiana, among scholarship offers.

Now, a big-time piece in the trenches is back in the blue and white — potentially with three more years of eligibility remaining, counting redshirts.

Gadson joins OL Aba Selm, LB Grant Godfrey, RB Jason Patterson, DB Martels Carter, DB Grant Grayton, TE Willie Rodriguez, DB Terhyon Nichols, K Jacob Kauwe, DB Nasir Addison, DE Sam Greene and DB Ty Bryant as players confirmed to return for Kentucky in 2026.

As for the new names on the roster going into Stein’s first season in Lexington, that list is up to 28.

Kentucky transfer commits

Player	Position	High School	Former School	Year
Olaus Alinen	G/T (6-6, 322)	Windson (Conn.) The Loomis Chaffee School	Alabama	Redshirt Junior
Jesse Anderson	S (6-0, 180)	Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons	Pittsburgh	Redshirt Junior
Max Anderson	iOL (6-5, 311)	Frisco (Texas) High	Tennessee	Redshirt Sophomore
Elijah “Bo” Barnes	LB (6-1, 244)	Dallas (Texas) Skyline	Texas	Redshirt Freshman
Jovantae Barnes	RB (6-0, 211)	Las Vegas (Nev.) Desert Pines	Oklahoma	Redshirt Senior
CJ Baxter Jr.	RB (6-1, 227)	Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater	Texas	Redshirt Junior
Ahmad Breaux	iDL (6-3, 278)	Ruston (La.) High	LSU	Junior
Jordan Castell	S (6-2, 213)	Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange	Florida	Senior
Brock Coffman	WR (6-10, 155)	Sayre (Ky.) School	Louisville	Redshirt Freshman
Xavier Daisy	WR (6-3, 210)	Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian School	UAB	Junior
Ja’Kayden Ferguson	WR (6-2, 187)	Missouri City (Texas) Thurgood Marshall	Arkansas	Sophomore
Aaron Gates	Nickel (6-0, 198)	Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian	Florida	Redshirt Junior
Jamarrion Harkless	iDL (6-3, 315)	Lexington (Ky.) Frederick Douglass	Purdue	Redshirt Junior
Lance Heard	T (6-6, 330)	Monroe (La.) Neville	LSU | Tennessee	Senior
Mark Manfred III	CB (6-1, 175)	Marietta (Ga.) Sprayberry	Missouri	Redshirt Freshman
Kenny Minchey	QB (6-2, 208)	Hendersonville (Tenn.) Pope John Paul II	Notre Dame	Redshirt Junior
JacQai Long	QB (6-2, 205)	Hurricane (W. Va.) High	Marshall	Redshirt Sophomore
Antonio O’Berry	EDGE (6-6, 240)	Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne	Tiffin (D-II) | Gardner-Webb	6th-Year Senior
Tom O’Hara	P (6-1, 197)	St. Bedes College (Melbourne, Australia)	Murray State	Junior
Coleton Price	iOL (6-3, 318)	Bowie (Texas) High	Baylor	Redshirt Senior
Spencer Radnoti	LS (6-3, 230)	Canton (Ga.) Cherokee	Georgia State	Redshirt Sophomore
Cyrus Reyes	S (6-1, 200)	Taylor (Texas) High	Mississippi State	Junior
Mark Robinson	T (6-5, 320)	Longwood (Fla.) Lyman	UTEP	Junior
Hasaan Sykes	CB (6-0, 185)	Tucker (Ga.) High	Western Carolina	Junior
Tegra Tshabola	iOL (6-6, 322)	West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West	Ohio State	Redshirt Senior
Tavion Wallace	LB (6-1, 239)	Baxley (Ga.) Appling County	Arkansas	Sophomore
Dominic Wiseman	iDL (6-2, 300)	Davenport (Iowa) High	South Alabama	Redshirt Senior
Adam Zouagui	K (5-11, 188)	Herndon (Va.) High	Davidson | South Florida	Senior

It’s all coming together, folks.