Missouri’s Mark Mitchell (25) looks for an opening on Kentucky’s Brandon Garrison, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/James Crisp)
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After four years in college, Mark Mitchell was ready to chase his professional dreams. He even played for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Summer League in July, the natural next step in his career. He spent two years apiece at Duke and Missouri and started all but one of the 134 games he appeared in, averaging more than 27 minutes per game each season.
Now, instead of chasing the NBA or an overseas league, Mitchell is seeking to make an even bigger impact at Kentucky, a school he committed to on Saturday, one day after a judge in the state ruled in favor of Mitchell and 12 other former college athletes. The judge granted the athletes a temporary restraining order, meaning they can play a fifth year. But the NCAA could appeal the decision, putting their eligibility in question.
The same scenario is playing out across the country as members of the high school class of 2022 are arguing that they should get another year in college. Effective Aug, 1, the NCAA is allowing players five years of eligibility in five years after entering college, but the organization said the rule does not apply to seniors who exhausted their four years of eligibility during the 2025-26 school year.
If Mitchell gets a fifth year, he will give Kentucky a major boost as the school seeks a Southeastern Conference title and deep NCAA tournament run. Mitchell, a 6-foot-8 forward, has already proven he can play at the highest levels of college basketball and should be in the mix for first team All-SEC and possibly All-American honors this season.
Mitchell was the No. 13 ranked recruit in the high school class of 2022, per 247Sports. As a freshman at Duke, he started all 35 games he appeared in before sustaining a season-ending knee injury heading into the second round of the NCAA tournament. The next season, he started all but one game, averaged 11.6 points and six rebounds per game and shot 54% from the field.
In 2024, Mitchell transferred to Missouri, where he helped the Tigers improve from 8-24 and 0-18 in the SEC the prior season to 22-12 and 10-8 in the SEC with an NCAA tournament appearance. He averaged a team-high 13.9 points per game and made third team All-SEC.
Last season, Mitchell averaged a team-high 18.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and helped the Tigers to another NCAA tournament, the first time since 2012 and 2013 that they qualified for consecutive NCAAs. Missouri lost in the first round to Miami, but Mitchell was named second team All-SEC.
After no team selected Mitchell in June's NBA draft, he signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Nuggets, which is a one-year, non-guaranteed deal. Mitchell appeared in four Summer League games with the Nuggets, making five of his 14 field goals with 19 points and seven rebounds in less than 15 minutes per game.
Earlier this month, Mitchell joined a lawsuit filed in Kentucky involving players seeking another year of college eligibility. After the judge ruled in their favor on Friday, Mitchell entered the transfer portal and committed to Kentucky, a coup for Wildcats coach Mark Pope, who is entering his third season.
With Mitchell's commitment, Kentucky now has the No. 1 transfer class in the nation, per 247Sports, surpassing Louisville, its in-state rival that has also invested heavily this offseason. The Wildcats' transfers include Milan Momcilovic, a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged 16.8 points per game and shot 48.7% on 7.5 3-point attempts per game last season at Iowa State; guard Zoom Diallo, who averaged 15.7 points and 4.5 assists per game at Washington; and guard Alex Wilkins, who averaged 17.8 points per game as a freshman at Furman.
Malachi Moreno, a 7-foot center who averaged 7.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last season as a freshman, is the only Kentucky starter returning from a team that went 22-14, finished seventh in the SEC with a 10-8 record and lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats have just two other players on its roster back: guard Kam Williams, a top reserve who averaged six points per game, and forward Trent Noah, who sustained an ankle injury late in the season and missed the NCAAs. Noah didn't see much time when healthy, either.
Kentucky entered last season ranked ninth in the Associated Press preseason poll and reportedly invested more than $20 million on its roster. As such, the Wildcats did not live up to expectations. This season, they could again enter as a top-10 team. After missing out on some transfers in the spring, Pope redeemed himself by convincing Moreno to return and getting Momcilovic and Mitchell to commit. The Wildcats still face some uncertainty about Mitchell's eligibility. But if he is ultimately cleared and plays as he did at Missouri, Kentucky should be in an enviable position to reach its potential.
