The fallout of John Calipari’s shock exit from Kentucky has already begun.
With the longtime coach bolting for SEC rival Arkansas, Wildcats freshman Aaron Bradshaw will enter the NCAA transfer portal, according to multiple reports.
The 7-foot-1 New Jersey native averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game during his first collegiate season.
The Camden HS product, a five-star recruit, was ranked No. 6 on ESPN’s Class of 2023 rankings; his high school teammate and fellow Kentucky recruit, D.J. Wagner, was ranked No. 4.
Calipari, 65, is leaving Kentucky after 15 seasons in Lexington, having won one national championship.
The Wildcats failed to get beyond the second round of the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three years, losing in the first round twice, including last month when as a No. 3 seed they were stunned by No. 14 Oakland; two years ago as a No. 2 seed they lost to No. 15 Saint Peter’s, the Jersey City Cinderella that made it to the Elite Eight.
Tension was building as a result, with Fox Sports reporting that Calipari felt driven to make a move by “lack of support.”
According to ESPN, Calipari is also close with Arkansas benefactor John H. Tyson, the billionaire chairman of Tyson Foods, and he’s going to make more than the $8.5 million annually he was getting from Kentucky.
Calipari led Kentucky to a national title in 2012, his third season in Lexington, after arriving from Memphis in 2009.
