One player that should be a perfect addition for his role on the 2026-27 Kentucky basketball team is Washington transfer center Franck Kepnang, who is a college basketball veteran. He started his career playing for the Oregon Ducks but has spent the last four years at Washington.
Last season, Kepnang averaged 6.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game, which was good for 24th best in the nation. For a backup center, these stats are solid for Kepnang, and this will be the role that he is asked to play this season at Kentucky.
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Kepnang is going to be the center playing behind Malachi Moreno, so these two should be one of the better shot-blocking duos in all of college basketball. The one concern with Kepnang is his injury history. He has had some trouble staying on the floor during his college career, and injuries have been an issue during the Pope era.
If Kepnang is able to stay on the floor this season for Pope and the Wildcats, he is the physical big man who can come in and play elite defense and rebound for Kentucky.
Let’s predict what the stat line will look like this season for Kepnang in his first season in the SEC.
NCAA Basketball Washington center Franck Kepnang | Washington Athletics via Imagn Images
Predicting the 2026-27 stat line for Franck Kepnang
Points
Prediction: 5.7 per game
I only see Kepnang playing about 15-17 minutes per game, and there is a world where that number is closer to 12. Knowing this, I don’t see him averaging any more than this, knowing his numbers weren’t much higher than this in 22 minutes per game last year at Washington. Kepnang isn’t much known as a scorer but rather more of a shot blocker.
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Rebounds
Prediction: 4.2 per game
I think 4.2 rebounds per game is fair for Kepnang in limited minutes, but this is a number I could perhaps see getting closer to six, knowing he does really help on the glass. He is a good backup center when it comes to pulling down boards.
Blocks
Prediction: 1.8 per game
Kepnang is one of the best shot blockers in all of college basketball, and if he played starter minutes, I think he would be top ten in the nation in this metric. I still could see a world where he blocks close to two shots per game in limited minutes just because of how elite his timing is.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/kentucky as Predicting the season stat line for Kentucky center Franck Kepnang .
