John Calipari isn’t done in Lexington.
Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart confirmed Tuesday that the Hall of Fame basketball coach would return to Kentucky for a 16th season in 2024-25.
The confirmation comes after days of speculation that the Wildcats shocking NCAA Tournament loss to Oakland would be his final game at the school.
Barnhart said the decision to retain Calipari was made after annual “conversations about the direction of our men’s basketball program.”
Since arriving at Kentucky, Calipari has consistently recruited top talent, but on-court results have been lacking compared to the program’s lofty standards in recent years.
Big Blue lost in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament and was shocked by 15-seed St. Peter’s in the first round of the 2022 tournament. Kentucky failed to make the tournament in 2021.
It reached the Elite Eight in 2019, but Kentucky hasn’t made a Final Four since back-to-back appearances in 2014 and 2015. The Wildcats won a national title in 2012.
But those accomplishments have faded in a state where Kentucky basketball is king and elite success is expected every single season. Calls from the fanbase and media for his removal were extremely loud following the team’s latest shortcoming in the NCAA Tournament.
Some, such as fellow HOF coach-turned CBS analyst Jay Wright, have gone as far as to question Calipari’s one-and-done approach to team building.
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