The Kentucky Wildcats made headlines after their unceremonious first-round ouster in the 2024 NCAA Tournament to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. The loss caused former champion coach John Calipari to be removed from his position and replaced by former team captain and 1996 NCAA champion Mark Pope.With most of the 2024 season’s roster transferring to other schools, exhausting their eligibility or declaring for the NBA draft, Pope was forced to start from scratch as he scrambled to secure player commitments from the transfer portal and high school recruitment.Months later, he assembled a dynamic roster that features six fifth-year players, one senior, three juniors, one sophomore and three freshmen. Not much is expected from this batch, but surprises have happened in the past, and this season, the Wildcats might be one of the underdog squads that college basketball fans would cheer on in the 2024-25 season.