"He's been working really hard": Mark Pope rally behind Brandon Garrison's potential role as the leader of the Wildcats

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope has thrown his support behind sophomore big man Brandon Garrison as a key leader for the Wildcats heading into the 2025-26 season.

With six seniors, Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Jaxson Robinson and Amari Williams, all exiting after exhausting their eligibility, the need for returning leadership has never been greater. At a media debrief on May 13, Pope highlighted Garrison as a standout candidate to step up.

“He needs to be a leader,” Pope said. “I’m really proud of him, how he’s approached this offseason. He’s been really hungry. He’s been working really hard.”

Pope emphasized that Garrison’s experience and understanding of the program now make him an anchor for the younger players.

“His job now as a returning player is to come teach all the other guys — whether they’re more senior than him or not,” Pope added. “He knows what we do, knows how we do it, knows the expectation, knows the standard.”

Garrison, who transferred to Kentucky ahead of the 2024-25 season after a freshman year at Oklahoma State, quietly grew into his role across the campaign. While the Wildcats were loaded with experienced seniors, Garrison got minutes due to his physicality and rim protection.

“It was really fun in the last month of the season to see him start to take on some leadership role,” Pope said. “You started to hear his voice more. You started to feel his intensity a little bit more. He’s changed, like he’s grown. It’s been awesome.”

Now, with a fresh-looking roster and a full year of Kentucky experience under his belt, Garrison looks poised to become the vocal and emotional core of Pope’s new-look squad.

Mark Pope highlights Brandon Garrison's role with incoming transfers

Garrison is stepping up in more ways than one at Kentucky, with head coach Pope praising his leadership during recent transfer visits.

“We had four new coming players on official visits altogether; it was a really fun weekend,” Pope said. “We had the guys in my house for a long breakfast and kind of hang out. Brandon Garrison came, and it was really fun to watch him holding court with those four guys.”

Garrison made an impression by taking time to guide the newcomers.

“He kind of went out of his way to come over and then sit with those guys and kind of talk to them about what it is and what it’s like and what it requires,” Pope shared.

“They think of Brandon Garrison as being a big brother right now. … he’s going to be really good.”

While the forward did not start for Kentucky in his debut season, Brandon Garrison made 35 appearances, averaging 5.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.