Praised as the “best athlete in the family” by her father, Shaquille O’Neal, Me’Arah O’Neal announced on social media on Monday that she is transferring from one SEC school to another, leaving Florida for Kentucky. Following a strong sophomore season with the Gators (Gators Fan Gear) (13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks per game), O’Neal announced her intention to play elsewhere after coach Kelly Rae Finley’s firing. Florida went 5-11 in the SEC and finished in a tie for 12th place in 2025-26.
“After a lot of thought and intentionality with my next steps, I’ve made the tough decision to enter the transfer portal,” she wrote on Instagram. “With faith and high expectations, I’m ready to power forward and embrace wherever God takes me next.” O’Neal’s siblings have also played college basketball,
including older brother Shareef (UCLA, LSU), sister Amirah (LSU, Texas Southern) and brother Shaqir (Sacramento State). “My baby is the best athlete in the family because she can do it all,” Shaquille O’Neal said about Me’Arah recently on his podcast. “She’s not an old-school player. She’s the new pick-your-type player, so I’m going to give her the title. She can shoot, she can dribble. She can’t be fazed when it comes to certain things.
” O’Neal will now play for coach Kenny Brooks at Kentucky, which made a run to the Sweet 16 in March. The Wildcats return leading scorer and all-SEC first-team selection Clara Strack along with Asia Boone, who averaged 10.1 points and shot 36.5% from 3-point range. A trio of McDonald’s All-Americans — Maddyn Greenway, Savvy Swords and Emily McDonald — highlight a talented recruiting class. Kentucky will also have UConn transfer Ayanna Patterson on its roster this fall.
Am Leaving Florida For Kentucky> JUST IN Kentucky Officially Agree Deal Of Top-Ranked Big That Would Fit Mark Pope’s Offense Perfectly
Mark Pope continues making noise on the recruiting trail as Kentucky makes the top five for one of 2027’s most tantalizing frontcourt prospects.
Mark Pope and Kentucky have suddenly begun making noise in the 2027-28 sphere early this week. As the team continues to wait for Tyran Stokes’ decision before filling out the rest of this coming season’s roster, the blue and white staff are on the road and in the headlines regarding the team coming after.
That is, unless one of Kentucky’s growing list of prospects decides to reclassify. In that case, these far-future names suddenly become very relevant and, potentially, rock the royal threads this fall. Five-star forward Ryan Hampton seems to be at the top of that list, but he isn’t alone.
Per Joe Tipton, Kentucky cracked the final five for five-star big Obinna Ekezie Jr. Mark Pope will battle the likes of Louisville, Arkansas, BYU, and Maryland (where his father played), for the class of 2027 star’s commitment.
Obinna Ekezie Jr. is Highly Sought After
Tipton also noted that Ekezie Jr. is a “potential reclass candidate,” making his eventual decision a potentially much more pressing matter. How he would fit into the current Kentucky roster isn’t exactly clear, especially assuming Malachi Moreno comes back, but you don’t turn away a five-star at any juncture.
And if Ekezie Jr. holds out until next year, he could very well position himself as the crown jewel of Kentucky’s class; if Pope lands both him and Hampton? I’m getting far too ahead of myself.
Upon a closer look, Ekezie Jr. is a 7-footer with a lengthy frame and the ability to muscle his way to essentially whatever he wants. The guy is as pure as five-men come; if he’s checked into the game, that painted area belongs to him.
As Ekezie Jr. noted himself in an interview with On3’s Jamie Shaw, “Their [Kentucky] bigs, for example, at my position, they’re involved a lot in their offense. They run a lot of handoffs, and the bigs kind of control things. They actually play like the initiators of their offense.
A stud, in simpler terms, who already sees himself as a potential fit in Coach Pope’s offense.
More Pressing Matters in Lexington
For the time, this is an exciting and semi-realistic option for a Kentucky team that has more pressing matters to worry about. It’s good to see the big blue on a stacked board for one of the nation’s best up-and-coming prospects
All the same, with a hole at small forward and a painfully obvious need for experience and scoring on Kentucky’s bench, it’s hard to get all that excited about what’s to come after this year when this year is far from settled.
Mark Pope also still has the onus to land a big-name recruit outside the state of Kentucky. Ekezie Jr. could certainly serve as a suitable mean to that end, at least.
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