Drew Brown, known as Big Blue Drew, has been covering University of Kentucky Basketball and Football for SB Nation’s A Sea of Blue since 2017.
In today’s rapidly changing college basketball landscape, there’s no room for rest, no true offseason, and no downtime. For coaches, competing in the transfer portal requires a year-round commitment.
Last year at this time, Kentucky Wildcats fans witnessed firsthand Mark Pope’s ability to build a competitive roster. In just a few weeks, Pope put together a team that went on to have an incredible season, including a trip to the Sweet 16.
Now that he’s demonstrated what he can achieve in such a short time, the pressure is on the entire UK coaching staff to dominate the transfer portal in year two.
One name that continues to generate buzz around Kentucky is Alvaro Folgueiras, a 6-foot-9 forward from Robert Morris University.
Born in Spain, Folgueiras has been a key player for the Colonials over the past two seasons and will enter the 2025-26 season as a junior. This makes him a potential long-term contributor for Kentucky, spanning multiple seasons.
Jacob Polacheck from KSR reported that the Kentucky coaching staff met with Folgueiras on Monday via Zoom. Additionally, KSR’s Ryan Lemond made an early bold prediction, suggesting that Kentucky would land both Folgueiras and San Diego State transfer Magoon Gwath this week. Notably, Lemond made this prediction before Travis Branham and Joe Tipton also forecasted Kentucky’s chances with Gwath, so it’s possible that Kentucky is close to securing Folgueiras as well.
Folgueiras showed significant improvement from his freshman to sophomore year. After averaging just 5.3 points and playing 17.5 minutes per game in his first season, he exploded in his second, raising his scoring to 14.1 points per game while increasing his playing time to nearly 30 minutes per contest.
A well-rounded player, Folgueiras also averaged over nine rebounds per game and dished out 3.2 assists from the forward position.
When evaluating talent for Mark Pope’s offense, a key question is always: Can they shoot? The answer here is yes. Folgueiras had a breakout season from beyond the arc, improving his 3-point percentage to 41.3% and hitting 45 threes for the Colonials.
Pope places a high value on bigs who can pass, and with 3.2 assists per game, Folgueiras is certainly above average for a college forward in that regard.
Without a doubt, Folgueiras will be a valuable asset for whichever team he chooses to play for next season.
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