The “Wednesday wrap up” series gives readers a broad look at the weekly activities of all UK Athletics programs, many of which do not often have their results put in print.

The series starts with a broad recap of all events, highlights three athletes who performed particularly well or notably and wraps up with a look at the week ahead and what’s to come.

The series runs weekly from Wednesday to Wednesday.

This week in results:

It was an exciting week in sports for the Kentucky Wildcats with some highs and lows. With a handful of seasons nearing an end and others just beginning, there’s never a dull moment in the Big Blue Nation.

Mens Basketball:
Kentucky basketball this week went through a range of emotions with a win over Duquesne 77-52 and a loss against Michigan State 86-77. Despite the loss, the week saw Daimion Collins, Sahvir Wheeler and Oscar Tshiebwe make their first appearance of the regular season on the court.

Womens Basketball:
The team triumphed over both matchups this past week, overcoming Morehead St 73-48 and Coastal Carolina 79-53. The wins move the team to 3-0 this season.

Football:
Kentucky Football suffered a tough loss on Saturday to Vanderbilt 24-21. The Commodores had lost 26 games in a row against SEC teams until the Cats ended that streak. Kentucky had won the previous six matchups against Vanderbilt but were unable to find the victory this year.

Cross Country:
Kentucky mens and womens cross country competed in the NCAA Southeast Regional over the weekend. The womens team finished sixth with 200 points and the mens team finished 10th with 299 points. Tori Herman and Perri Bockrath finished in fourth and ninth individually, qualifying them for the Championship on Friday.

Soccer:
Kentucky mens soccer earned a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament after winning the Sun Belt Conference championship on Sunday. They will enter the tournament undefeated for the first time in program history.

Rifle:
The reigning national championship-winning rifle team found victory over the weekend in its competition against Murray State and Morehead State. They earned a 8240 overall, the fourth-highest score in the nation for the season.

Volleyball:
Finally, Kentucky volleyball defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 3-1 while also recently announcing five signees for the 2023-2024 season.

Three stars for UK:

Jada Walker, womens basketball

Fans expected big things from Walker this year, being a returner on the team, but she has stepped up significantly in the absence of Rhyne Howard and proven that she can fill big shoes.

The sophomore guard achieved her first career double-double against Coastal Carolina on Sunday and led the team with 21 points and 10 assists. Walker has led the scoring for Kentucky in two out of three games so far during the season and shows no signs of stopping there.

Walker is also consistently aggressive on defense and contributes to setting the tone for the Cats every game.

Oscar Tshiebwe, mens basketball

The reigning consensus National Player of the Year proves time and time again why he is one of the best players in all of college basketball. Just four weeks after having knee surgery, Tshiebwe checked in for the first time this season for the Cats on Tuesday against Michigan State and dominated the court.

Tshiebwe played for 34 minutes against the Spartans and led the team in scoring and on the boards with 22 points and 18 rebounds. Despite Kentucky ultimately losing in the second overtime to Michigan State, Tshiebwe could not have made a more powerful statement on the court last night that he was back and better than ever to play for Big Blue Nation.

Kentucky mens soccer team

Every player on this team deserves recognition for their hard work and talent this past week. The team finished the regular season undefeated (14-0-5) and claimed the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA tournament. They triumphed over James Madison 2-0 for the Sun Belt Conference championship and made program history with their undefeated record.

The team has fought and played hard all season under the leadership of head coach Johan Cedergreen and will continue to debut their talent in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday.

The week to come:

With the overlap of football and basketball season, there is still much to come in the week heading into Thanksgiving.

Tonight, Kentucky volleyball will look to continue its winning streak against Tennessee in Memorial Coliseum.

Womens basketball will claim Memorial Coliseum the following night to take on Bellarmine University and hope to move to 4-0 on the season. Mens basketball will also play on Thursday night in Rupp Arena against South Carolina State.

Friday and Saturday, the swim and dive team will compete in the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.

Kentucky football, volleyball, rifle and cross country will join in the action on Saturday as well.

Football stays at home to take on No. 1 Georgia at Kroger Field, while volleyball will match up with the Florida Gators in Gainesville, Florida, and rifle will compete with Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.

Tori Herman and Perri Bockrath will represent Kentucky cross country for the Southeast Regional Championship held in Louisville, Kentucky.

Volleyball will continue its matchup with Florida on Sunday while rifle has a quick turnaround and travels to Tennessee to compete against Memphis. Sunday night sees mens basketball meet the No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs in Spokane, Washington. Mens soccer will also play in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday to take on the winner of South Florida and Hofstra.

Finally, to wrap up the week of sports, womens basketball will travel to Nassau, Bahamas, to play two games – Virginia Tech on Monday and Dayton on Wednesday.