Franck Kepnang commits to Kentucky basketball via NCAA transfer portal
Mark Pope and Kentucky basketball have landed a transfer portal commitment from Franck Kepnang, who previously played for the Washington Huskies.
LEXINGTON — Coach Mark Pope has found another center for Kentucky basketball 's roster. The Wildcats netted a commitment Saturday from Franck Kepnang , who has played on the West Coast during his college career. Kepnang's pledge was announced by the UK Sports Network's official account on X , the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The 2026-27 campaign will be Kepnang's seventh season as a collegian . The 6-foot-11, 225-pound native of Cameroon began his career at Oregon in 2020-21, a year in which the NCAA paused the eligibility clock for all athletes amid the coronavirus pandemic. After appearing in 35 games (with five starts) in 2021-22, Kepnang transferred to Washington .
He suffered a season-ending injury after playing in only eight games in 2022-23. In the next two seasons (2023-24 and 2024-25) Kepnang combined to play in 24 games. Last season was his best so far, as he made 25 starts in 27 appearances for the Huskies .
Kepnang finished third in the Big Ten in total blocks (55) and blocks per game (2. 07) in 2025-26. He also averaged 6.