Kentucky's John Calipari will return as coach of the Wildcats for the 2024-25 season after doubt was clouded over his future at the school following a loss to No. 14 seed Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last week. Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart announced Tuesday that Calipari would return for his 16th season with the program after an annual exit meeting between the two sides.
"As we normally do at the end of every season, Coach Calipari and I have had conversations about the direction of our men's basketball program and I can confirm that he will return for his 16th season as our head coach," Barnhart said.
The Wildcats failed to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season. Kentucky missed the tournament in 2021 and lost to Saint Peter's and Kansas State, respectively the two previous seasons.
"There is a standard here," Calipari said on his radio show on Monday. "It's a high standard. And if you play or coach here, you gotta know what that standard is and love it, relish it. It's hard."
In his 15 years at the school, Calipari has compiled a 410-122 record with four Final Four appearances (2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015) and coached Kentucky's last national championship team in 2012.
Kentucky landed the No. 1 overall recruiting class in the 2023 cycle. That class was headlined by standouts Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards, D.J. Wagner, and Aaron Bradshaw.
Calipari remaining with the program affirms the Wildcats' second-ranked recruiting class from the 2024 cycle will remain intact. Kentucky's incoming recruiting class includes five-star center Jayden Quaintance, four-star guard Boogie Fland, four-star center Somto Cyril, four-star guard Travis Perry, four-star guard Billy Richmond, and four-star forward Karter Knox.
Kentucky has finished with a top-five recruiting class every cycle since 247Sports started tracking team rankings in 2010. The Wildcats landed the No. 1 recruiting class in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020 and 2023 under Calipari's watch.