𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Kentucky general manager Pat Biondo, one of head coach Will Stein’s first key hires upon arriving in Lexington last December, has stepped down after less than a year in the role, the school announced Tuesday.

“This is a personal move and I hope everyone will respect the private nature of such a tough decision,” Biondo said in a statement.

Kentucky also said in a statement that the move was Biondo’s decision.

“We respect his choice and the personal considerations behind it. We are grateful for his contributions to our program,” the statement read.

The move means the Wildcats will enter the 2026 season without an influential member of Stein’s staff, one who spearheaded Kentucky’s impressive offseason. With Biondo running Kentucky’s personnel operation, the Wildcats finished with the eighth-best transfer portal class in the country and the fourth-best class in the SEC, behind only LSU, Texas and Texas A&M.

The Wildcats have also had a strong start building their 2027 recruiting class with 25 commitments, ranking 21st nationally according to 247Sports and 22nd according to Rivals.

The transfer class included former Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey and offensive tackle Lance Heard, who started the past two seasons at Tennessee. Texas running back CJ Baxter, Ohio State offensive lineman Tegra Tshabola and Baylor offensive lineman Coleton Price also highlighted the 29-member class.

In an April interview with The Athletic, Stein lauded Biondo’s work in the January transfer portal window while Stein was juggling duties as Oregon’s offensive coordinator during the College Football Playoff.

“Not only has he held the GM role, but he has a lot of chief of staff qualities too, and he’s helped me through hiring, helped me through transition with the new staff,” Stein said this spring. “He knows how we run things, so if I’m not present, he’s able to take charge and lead our operations department on, ‘Hey, this is what it’s supposed to look like for Coach Stein.’ He’s just a close confidant for me. He provides me with great ease, and I can just know that I can sleep really well at night with Pat leading the charge.”

Stein also called Biondo “really smart and very well organized” and credited Biondo with setting compensation ranges and negotiating with agents to ensure Kentucky wasn’t overpaying for players in the transfer portal.

Biondo was on the plane to Kentucky with Stein when he was hired away from Oregon in December. Stein played quarterback and coached at Louisville but grew up in Louisville as a Kentucky fan because his father played for the Wildcats.

Biondo joined the Oregon personnel and recruiting staff in 2022 and was the director of football recruiting strategy. He previously worked in recruiting at Texas A&M and West Virginia.