Kentucky lands commitment from Texas transfer LB, former top-100 recruit
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Kentucky scored a huge victory in the transfer portal on Saturday night just as new head coach Will Stein turned his full attention to rebuilding the Wildcats program.
With Oregon’s loss to Indiana on Friday night in the College Football Playoff semifinals, Saturday was the first day that Stein could fully transfer his duties from Ducks offensive coordinator to Kentucky head coach. And Saturday night brought a big win to help take the sting off that Playoff loss for Stein, with Texas transfer linebacker Elijah “Bo” Barnes committing to the Wildcats for the 2026 season.
The Dallas product bolted from his home state program after one season, and now he’s landed at an SEC rival that’s looking to rebuild under a new regime. Barnes was the 78th-ranked player in the Class of 2025, according to the 247Sports prospect ratings. He was also the 3rd-ranked linebacker and the 19th-ranked player from the state of Texas, which is saying something about his value coming out of high school.
Barnes made 4 tackles, all of them solo, and added 1 sack in limited action during his true freshman season at Texas in 2025.
The 6-foot-1, 244-pound transfer prize showed Kentucky fans that he had a flair for the dramatic, announcing his commitment to Lexington during Saturday night’s UK men’s basketball game against Mississippi State at Rupp Arena.
Barnes made his commitment to Kentucky in front of the Wildcats’ student section, according to a report by Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio.
This fall, many of those same students will have the chance to watch Barnes try to help turn around Kentucky’s fortunes on the football field under Stein.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
