Kentucky Basketball assistant coach Mo Williams recently posted a video on Instagram of the Wildcats’ locker room, showing the name and number above each player’s locker.
One returning player, Braydon Hawthorne, decided to change his number, and we have one number that will be worn for the first time in 72 years!
Other than those, most numbers have been worn in recent years, and some of them by some of Big Blue Nation’s favorites.
0 – Zyon Hawthorne
Only worn six times in program history, and was debuted by Enes Kanter in the 2010-2011 season. Now, Braydon’s younger brother, Zyon, will be rocking the No. 0 for the first time since Rob Dillingham in 2023-2024.
1 – Jerone Morton
After a year of not being donned, No. 1 will be worn again, this time by Lexington’s own, Jerone Morton. He will join a list of many guards in program history to wear No. 1, most recently by Lamont Butler in year one of the Mark Pope era.
2 – Braydon Hawthorne
Braydon Hawthorne wore number 22 during his redshirt freshman season in Lexington, but recently decided to change to No. 2. Hawthorne wore No. 2 during his high school days at Huntington Prep in West Virginia, and will be the first to wear the number since Jaxson Robinson.
3 – Kam Williams
Kam Williams returns to Kentucky for his second season and his junior year of college basketball overall. Still rocking No. 3 for a second straight year, and looking to take another step forward and honor the number because of the legends that wore it before him. Some notable No. 3’s in program history include Rex Chapman, Terrence Jones, Nerlens Noel, Tyler Ulis, Bam Adebayo, and Tyrese Maxey. Nobody wore it in Mark Pope’s first year, and Williams has worn it last year and this upcoming year, so he is the only No. 3 in the Mark Pope era.
4 – Mason Williams
The number worn by Kyle Macy, Rajon Rondo, Koby Brea, and many other guards will now be worn by Mason Williams as he comes in as the only high school recruit for Kentucky this year. Williams is also the son of assistant coach Mo Williams, and will be a depth guard for the Wildcats in year one.
5 – Zoom Diallo
Collin Chandler rocked No. 5 in his first two years at Kentucky, prior to transferring to BYU. Now that Chandler has hit the road, Zoom Diallo, the transfer guard from Washington, will take over the number. No. 5 was worn by a ton of guys who could really score it, so hopefully Diallo can do the same.
9 – Trent Noah
When Trent Noah came to Kentucky, he decided to be the first player to wear No. 9 at Kentucky since Glen Parker in the 1943-1944 season. He chose to wear the number because that is what the program is chasing, a ninth championship. Now heading into his junior season, the mission remains the same. Continue to chase championship No. 9.
10 – Alex Wilkins
The Furman transfer had the ability to keep the same jersey number he wore during his freshman campaign. Now will be expected to be a key player for the Wildcats as one of the lead guards. No. 10 was most recently worn by Brandon Garrison in years one and two in the Mark Pope era.
11 – Franck Kepnang
The Washington transfer big man will be the first center to wear No. 11 since George Yates in the 1932-1933 season. Mostly worn by guards in our program history, but will now be donned by one of the elite rim protectors in the sport.
19 – Ousmane N’Diaye
No. 19 is an interesting number, but it’s an interesting player that will be wearing it. Ousmane N’Diaye has decided to wear No. 19 for Kentucky in 2026-2027. This won’t be the first time he’s worn an interesting number, as he wore No. 46 for Vanoli Cremona playing professionally overseas. The No. 19 hasn’t been worn by a Kentucky Wildcat since the 1953-1954 season by Willis Rouse, due to the rules of not being allowed to wear digits past five for quite some time.
21 – Justin McBride
A jersey number with a few very notable names in its history, No. 21. Most notably worn by the names of Jack Goose Givens, Tayshaun Prince, Cameron Mills, and the controversial player named Shaedon Sharpe. Justin McBride will be heading into his senior season, transferring over from James Madison, where he had a great junior season, and will continue to rock No. 21, as he has at his three previous college stops.
22 – Milan Momcilovic
The prized portal pickup for Mark Pope and his staff, Milan Momcilovic, will wear the number he’s worn for his later high school days, AAU days, and Iowa State days. In the history of the program, some of the most loved players in the program wore No. 22. Names like Mike Pratt, Patrick Sparks, Alex Poythress, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Amari Williams all rocked the same number. Now, we will see if Momcilovic could get his name entered into that conversation with some of the most loved, and I believe he will.
24 – Malachi Moreno
One of Kentucky’s own, Malachi Moreno, will be returning for his sophomore season and will wear the same No. 24 that he wore during his freshman season. No. 24 is worn most notably by Jamal Mashburn, but many Kentucky players over the years have worn it, most recently by Chris Livingston in 2022-2023.
33 – Reece Potter
Lastly, another one of Lexington’s own, Reece Potter. After transferring back home from Miami (Ohio), Potter redshirted and wore No. 33 and will wear it again. Potter actually wore No. 34 in high school at Lexington Catholic, No. 35 at Miami Ohio, and now No. 33 at Kentucky. Seems like there’s just something about that number range for Potter for some reason. No. 33 was most recently worn by Ugonna Onyenso in 2023-2024, and has been worn by many bigs in the history of Kentucky basketball, but now be worn proudly by the Lexington native.
