Kentucky Lands James Madison Forward Justin McBride in Major Transfer Portal Addition
The Kentucky Wildcats have secured a significant addition to their frontcourt, landing James Madison transfer Justin McBride as their third portal commitment of the offseason.
McBride’s commitment comes at a crucial time for Kentucky, which had been searching aggressively for help at power forward after losing both Mo Dioubate to LSU and Andrija Jelavic to Ohio State. Those departures left the Wildcats without a true player at the position, making McBride’s arrival a major boost for head coach Mark Pope’s roster construction heading into the 2026-27 season.
The 6-foot-7 forward from Plano, Texas, officially committed to Kentucky shortly after taking a visit to Lexington earlier this month. Despite receiving strong interest from several major programs, including Louisville, SMU, Florida State, and Baylor, McBride decided Kentucky was the right fit and committed following his trip. Lexington ended up being the only visit he needed before making his decision.
McBride joins a growing transfer class for the Wildcats that also includes former Washington guard Zoom Diallo and ex-Furman standout Alex Wilkins, further strengthening Kentucky’s revamped roster.
He arrives in Lexington following a breakout junior season at James Madison, where he established himself as one of the Sun Belt Conference’s top forwards. McBride earned Third Team All-Sun Belt honors after averaging 15.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game during the 2025-26 campaign. He also displayed impressive efficiency, shooting 49 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range, and 78 percent from the free-throw line.
Before his successful season at James Madison, McBride’s college journey included stops at Oklahoma State and Nevada. He began his career with the Cowboys during the 2023-24 season, averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds as a freshman. He then transferred to Nevada, where he improved his production to 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game during the 2024-25 season before ultimately making the move to James Madison.
McBride was a highly regarded prospect coming out of high school, ranked as the No. 125 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class and the No. 40 power forward nationally according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.
Though his early college career featured multiple stops, McBride found his stride under James Madison head coach Preston Spradlin. Spradlin, who previously spent five years on John Calipari’s staff at Kentucky from 2009 to 2014, played a major role in helping McBride unlock his potential.
In his lone season at James Madison, McBride became the team’s go-to scorer, leading the Dukes in points in 10 games while starting 30 of the 31 contests he appeared in. His performance helped James Madison finish 18-15 overall and secure an eighth-place finish in the Sun Belt standings.
Spradlin praised McBride’s impact and long-term potential when discussing his development.
“The addition of Justin will change the entire complexion of our team,” Spradlin previously said. “With his size, skill, and athleticism, he will be a true inside-out mismatch. His efficiency in limited minutes shows great promise for his future production as he steps into a larger role.”
Now, McBride will look to bring that same versatility and production to Lexington, where Kentucky hopes he can immediately stabilize the power forward position and become a key contributor in the Wildcats’ pursuit of a return to national prominence.
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