“Representing the blue and white has genuinely been an absolute honor, and I am grateful for every opportunity I’ve had to put on a Kentucky jersey,” wrote Aaron Bradshaw in his final letter to the Wildcat nation back in April. It is speculated that Bradshaw’s move came after Coach John Calipari departed from Arlington. Therefore, he entered the transfer portal to maintain his NCAA eligibility while also plying his trade in the 2024 NBA draft.

The freshman center then took his talents to Ohio State Buckeyes. But why did he move away from Kentucky after just one season? Exploring the same, let’s dig into the details of what Bradshaw experienced in a year at Kentucky.

What led to Aaron Bradshaw’s transfer from the Wildcats locker room?

Besides Calipari leaving Kentucky, there were other factors involved in Bradshaw’s transfer from Kentucky. In 2022, Bradshaw committed to play college basketball for Calipari as a consensus 5-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2023 class. Being 7-foot-1, the McDonald’s All-American was the top-ranked center in the 2023 recruitment cycle.

But his inaugural season was filled with highs and lows. After he enrolled at the University of Kentucky, Bradshaw was sidelined with a foot injury for a few months. As a result, he couldn’t participate in the Wildcats’ trip to Toronto for the GLOBLJAM tournament. Similarly, he missed both preseason exhibition games and the first seven regular-season games last year.

His debut came against Wilmington in December coming off the bench. Coach Calipari did give a post-game review on his first performance and said, “He’s not ready yet, but we threw him in to try to get him ready. I also played him at the 4. Folks, we had one day of him practicing, maybe a day and a half. That’s it. So I tried to put him at the easiest position.”

It was his second performance that put him on the NCAA map. He posted his collegiate career’s first double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds along with three blocks against Penn in Philadelphia. In fact, many even argued that he was the partner in crime to the 6-ft-3 guard Rob Dillingham.

However, Bradshaw, on coming in as a freshman at Kentucky, couldn’t live up to the hype with consistent struggles. Through 26 games he played, the No. 2 Wildcat had 10 starts and averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game.

Similarly, he barely played in the final two months of the year. His inconsistency was becoming questionable for many loyalists and draft analysts, wondering “whether he would ever suit up for the Wildcats.”

Later, he announced that he would not be continuing in Arlington. Just like Bradshaw, other players moved out of Kentucky and took their talents to either the NBA or the transfer portal. For instance, D.J. Wagner entered the transfer portal in April, leaving Reed Sheppard, Ugonna Onyenso, and Jordan Burks.

However, they too moved away from the program. Reed Sheppard was drafted into the NBA as the 3rd overall pick by the Houston Rockets. The now junior Ugonna Onyenso transferred to Kansas State. Similarly, Jordan Burks also transferred to the Georgetown Hoyas for his sophomore season. Hence, while his reason for leaving Kentucky was a mix of an injury-laden season and Calipari’s move, seems like his time in Ohio is also not a walk in the park.

Reasons why Bradshaw has been put under the media microscope yet again

After playing 4 games in the 2024-25 season, Aaron Bradshaw has been excluded from team activities, per the recently released statement by Ohio State University which read, “Aaron Bradshaw is not currently participating in team activities. The university is following its established process. Due to federal privacy laws, we cannot share further information at this time.”

In his sophomore season with Ohio State, he has averaged around 24 minutes per game. So far, the 7-foot-1 center has amassed 31 points, 18 rebounds, and 6 blocks this season. However, in the last game, he was seen leaving the court with an apparent head injury.

As a result, when asked for an update on Bradshaw, the program put out the above-mentioned statement and nothing more, which looked more than just a head injury. In fact, Ryan Stano of the Scarlet&Game, an Ohio State expert, analyzed the notice from the Buckeyes, “That doesn’t sound good. Normally, when a team has to release a statement like this, it’s nothing good. It sounds like Bradshaw might be in some sort of trouble. We don’t know what that is, so I’ll refrain from speculating more about it until more information comes out.”

Hence, this has led to a wave of rumors that it seems he has been suspended for sure if not kicked out of the program for good, with the reasons not made public.