The point guard position didn’t go as planned in the 2025–26 season, according to Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope. Much of that was related to the events of the previous offseason. Jaland Lowe, a junior transfer addition who only played nine games for Kentucky and plans to use the transfer portal once more this offseason, had an injury-plagued season that the Cats could not have predicted. However, the UK’s point guard depth was reduced by two additional roster changes in April 2025.
Acaden Lewis’ choice to drop out of Kentucky came first. After averaging 12.2 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, the four-star high school prospect was chosen for the Second Team All-Big East while attending Villanova. Travis Perry’s choice to transfer followed. For fans in the UK, that one was really confusing.
During the 2024–25 season, Perry, who is still the highest scorer in Kentucky boys high school basketball history, made 31 appearances, including four starts. The 6-foot-1 floor general was anticipated to return to the Cats for his sophomore season, despite Perry being placed in some challenging situations during Pope’s first year as coach.
That was not the case. Perry decided to depart the UK shortly before the portal entry deadline in the spring of last year. Perry’s final five alternatives during his high school recruitment were Chris Beard’s Ole Miss program, which is where he ended up. At Ole Miss, he shot 34.3% from the field, 35.3% on 3-pointers, and 88.0% from the free-throw line while averaging 5.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists a game. Perry had a major role in the Rebels’ unexpected run to the SEC Tournament semifinals, but the team finished 15-20 overall and 4-14 in SEC regular season games.
Perry’s individual stats, such as his 35 games played, 16 starts, and 16.4 minutes per game, all showed growth over his rookie campaign. After defeating Georgia in the SEC Tournament, Perry told the Herald-Leader, “I just feel like that I’ve grown, I think as a person.” “For me, it’s important to keep playing the game, enjoy it, and love it despite the challenges we’ve faced and I’ve faced. For me, just going through it has been quite beneficial.
Travis Perry develops during season at Ole Miss
The complete picture of Perry’s sophomore year cannot be found in end-of-season statistics alone. Perry, who won the 2024 Kentucky Mr. Basketball title and Lyon County’s Sweet 16 state championship, had a difficult start to the 2025–2026 campaign. Perry’s 3-point shooting percentage during Ole Miss’ 13-game nonconference season was 30.5%. If you exclude an outlier performance in which Perry hit 5 for 11 on 3s, scored a career-high 21 points, and recorded four steals in a December loss to NC State, that percentage falls to 27.1%.
As he adjusted to his new basketball surroundings in Oxford, Mississippi, Perry generally had trouble recording assists and grabbing rebounds. In Ole Miss’ first SEC game of the season, an 86-70 defeat against Oklahoma, he saw just four minutes of action off the bench. Perry’s individual play showed glimpses of life as Ole Miss continued its miserable season. In an overtime victory over Georgia, he made four 3-pointers. Perry made five 3-pointers in a home defeat to Auburn, matching his output against NC State.
There was also growth in other sectors. In four separate SEC regular season games, Perry pulled down at least three rebounds. In a home defeat to league champion Florida, he also made plays for teammates, recording a career-high four assists. “Just have faith in the effort I put in. It’s easy to kind of sink a little bit and lose confidence in yourself after a few difficult games, according to Perry. “But my coaches and teammates have really talked to me about how hard I work and how I just need to have faith in myself to show it every day.”
This aspect of Perry’s growth paid off during Ole Miss’ impressive finish to the 2025–2026 campaign. Beard’s program rattled off three wins in the SEC Tournament — over Texas, Georgia and Alabama — to reach the semifinals of the event, where Ole Miss lost in overtime to eventual tournament champion Arkansas. Perry had some outstanding play while in Nashville and started every game Ole Miss played in the conference tournament.
In Ole Miss’ victory against Georgia in the second round, he recorded a career-high six rebounds, which he repeated the following evening in a quarterfinal victory over Alabama. In the season-ending defeat to Arkansas, Perry shot 3 for 9 from beyond the arc and 4 for 8 against Georgia. Perry finished the season with at least one steal in five consecutive games on defense. Perry had eight assists against just two turnovers in Ole Miss’ last three games. He played 30 minutes against Georgia, 33 minutes against Alabama, and a career-high 37 minutes against Arkansas in overtime.
“I feel like I had to go out there and do more than just shoot the ball for us to win. You won’t always be a good ball shooter. Perry stated, “I’m just trying to influence the game in any way I can.” “They’ve been criticizing me all year for being a little more aggressive and physical throughout the game. However, attempting to influence the game without scoring the ball has been the primary focus. According to Beard, Perry would play a “bigger role” at Ole Miss than he did at Kentucky. And outside shooting wasn’t enough for that.
After the SEC Tournament victory over Georgia, Beard remarked, “Travis is not a soft player.” He’s a strong man. He is a rival. However, there will be plays and possessions in basketball where you need to use that level of strength. Perry’s performance at the end of the 2025–26 season might be a springboard for his junior campaign if he decides to remain at Ole Miss.
Beard stated, “We’ve been urging Travis to start the conversation from the beginning; don’t back down.” “… Travis has got some nasty in him. We’re merely attempting to extract it from him gradually. Perry was more than simply a shooter, Beard said at SEC Basketball Media Days in October. Perry’s sophomore campaign was a positive step in this regard.
“I always go out there and play for my teammates.” Perry remarked, “I’m absolutely content where I am. The goal is to go out there and find a way to assist my team win. Hearing that things probably makes my mom very happy over there. However, my main goal is to do everything in my power to support our victory. Perry still relies on some of the fundamentals he acquired while playing high school basketball in the Commonwealth for his father, Ryan, at Lyon County, regardless of what he does in college.
“Just be aware that if you play aggressively, I was always aggressive during those games (at Lyon County).” In the end, Perry remarked, it’s really just about winning by going out and playing aggressively. It boils down to that. All I wanted was to prevail. I didn’t give a damn about how many points I scored or anything else back then. As long as we won, it didn’t matter how many rebounds, assists, or steals we had. That was all that was important.
