Kentucky basketball's Kam Williams to return in 2026-27, per report

LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball has a projected starter back in the fold.

According to a report from Jonathan Givony of Draft Express on Tuesday, Kam Williams, a rising junior guard, will return to UK for the 2026-27 campaign. Williams worked his way into the starting five shortly after UK jumped into SEC play last season. Now that he's set to return, Williams should be in line to start again.

It will be his second season with coach Mark Pope and the Wildcats.

Williams came off the bench for UK's first five games before entering the lineup Nov. 21 versus Loyola Maryland. He stayed there the next three games before returning to a reserve role. His breakout performance was in a 99-85 win over Bellarmine on Dec. 23, when he scored a game-high 26 points on 8-of-10 shooting. All eight of his field goals were 3-pointers; it was only the 13th time a Kentucky player tallied eight (or more) triples in a single game.

Williams then had 14 points in a home victory over Mississippi State on Jan. 10.

That paved the way for his return to the lineup Jan. 14 at LSU. Williams had solidified himself as a starter until he broke his foot in the second half of the team's win over Texas on Jan. 21. While it could have been a season-ending injury, Williams accelerated the recovery process, enough he was cleared to return for Kentucky's SEC Tournament opener versus LSU on March 11. He went on to play 17 minutes off the bench in that victory.

Though the Louisiana native was back on the floor for the final five games of the season, the coaching staff limited his minutes. And Williams wasn't the same player he had been prior to the injury: His best point tally in his last five outings was five in the season-ending loss to Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Williams ended his first season with the Cats having appeared in 24 games (seven starts), averaging 6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1 assist in 18.5 minutes.

He joined Kentucky after a season at Tulane. Williams averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1 block per game for the Green Wave in 2024-25. Additionally, he was the team's most accurate 3-point shooter (41.2%; 63 for 153) earned an All-American Athletic Conference Freshman Team accolade.

A member of the Class of 2024, ESPN tabbed Williams a four-star prospect while 247Sports evaluated him as a three-star recruit.

As a transfer prospect last year, both Rivals/On3 and 247Sports considered Williams a four-star recruit.

This story may be updated.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball's Kam Williams to return for UK's 2026-27 roster