The 2019–20 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lexington, Kentucky for the 44th consecutive season at Rupp Arena, with a capacity of 20,545. The Wildcats were led by John Calipari in his 11th season as head coach and played in the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 25–6, 15–3 in SEC play to win the SEC regular season championship. They were set to be the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament with a bye to the quarterfinals. However, the SEC Tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With the SEC Tournament cancelled, they were awarded the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, the NCAA Tournament was also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officially, the Wildcats finished No. 7 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 8 in the AP Poll.
Previous season
The Wildcats finished the 2018–19 season 30–7, 15–3 in SEC play to finish in a tie for second. In the SEC tournament, the Wildcats defeated Alabama, but were defeated by Tennessee in the semi-finals of the tournament. The Wildcats received an at-large bid NCAA tournament. As the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, they defeated No. 15 Abilene Christian, No. 7 Wofford, and No. 3 Houston to advance to the Elite Eight. There, they lost to the No. 5-seed Auburn.
Offseason
Departures
On April 9, 2019, P. J. Washington announced that he would be entering the 2019 NBA Draft and would sign with an agent. However, due to changes in NCAA rules that took effect with the 2019 draft, signing with an agent no longer automatically results in loss of NCAA eligibility. On April 16, Tyler Herro announced that he would remain in the NBA draft, forgoing his remaining eligibility. The following day, two more players announced their departures, with Keldon Johnson announcing he would leave Kentucky and stay in the 2019 NBA draft and Jemarl Baker announcing his intention to transfer from Kentucky.
2019 recruiting class
In May Kentucky announced the completion of its 2019 signing class. It ranked as a consensus top-three class for the eleventh straight season under Calipari. The 2019 class consists of forward Dontaie Allen (Falmouth, KY), forward Keion Brooks Jr. (Fort Wayne, IN), guard Johnny Juzang (Studio City, CA), guard Tyrese Maxey (Garland, TX), and forward Kahlil Whitney (Chicago).
On May 9, 2018, Maxey committed to become the first member of the class. He chose Kentucky over offers from Michigan State and Texas. Maxey was ranked as the consensus #2 ranked point guard in the 2019 class, and became a McDonald's All-American.
On August 2, 2018, Allen committed to Kentucky over offers from Florida and Louisville. On March 5, 2019 Allen was named Kentucky Mr. Basketball.
On August 8, 2018, Kahlil Whitney committed to play basketball for UK over offers from Illinois and Georgetown. Whitney is the third commitment to commit in the 2019 class and is ranked #19 overall in the 2019 class by 247 sports.
On March 15, 2019, Keion Brooks Jr., from Fort Wayne, IN, committed to play basketball for Kentucky over offers from Michigan State and Indiana. Brooks is the fourth recruit to commit in the 2019 class and is ranked #23 overall in the 2019 by 247 sports.
On May 10, 2019, Johnny Juzang committed to play basketball for Kentucky over an offer to play for Virginia. Juzang is the fifth commitment to commit in the 2019 class and is ranked #32 overall in the 2019 class by 247 sports.
Incoming transfers
On April 4, 2019, Nate Sestina announced that he would transfer to Kentucky for the 2019–2020 season. Sestina was named second team All-Patriot league for Bucknell and averaged 15.8 PPG and 8.7 RPG in his final year with the Bisons. As a grad transfer, he is eligible to play immediately under NCAA rules.
2020 recruiting class
On July 27, 2019, Brandon Boston Jr. committed to play basketball for the University of Kentucky over offers from Florida and Duke. Boston is the first commitment to the 2020 recruiting class and the #2 ranked shooting guard in the 2020 class by 247 sports.
Cam'Ron Fletcher, from St. Louis, Missouri, is the second commitment in the Kentucky 2020 recruiting class. He committed to Kentucky on August 4, 2019, and chose Kentucky over Michigan State. He is a consensus four-star player by the four main recruiting services and is ranked #36 overall by 24/7 Sports.
