LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball and coach Mark Pope on Tuesday took another step toward shoring up the frontcourt via the transfer portal.

The Wildcats landed a commitment from Justin McBride, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound forward who played at James Madison last season. The UK Sports Network's official account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, announced McBride's commitment.

UK will be his fourth school in four years. He began his college career at Oklahoma State in 2023-24. McBride then spent a season at Nevada (2024-25) and JMU, respectively.

During his one-year stint with the Dukes, McBride averaged team highs in points (15.3) and rebounds (5.6) per game.

He is Kentucky's first transfer portal commitment from a frontcourt player this offseason. The Wildcats' other portal additions, Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins, are guards.

McBride will join a frontcourt with three confirmed returnees for next season: Trent Noah, Braydon Hawthorne and Reece Potter. Another likely member of that group is center Malachi Moreno, who declared for the NBA draft but maintained his college eligibility; he'll be back with the Cats if he doesn't keep his name in the draft.

An international big man, Ousmane N'Diaye, committed last week.

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: Justin McBride to Kentucky basketball, Mark Pope in transfer portal