KSR Today: A great Monday for Will Stein, a bad Monday night for La Familia

Good morning, friends. It was a very busy Monday at the KSR headquarters, as Will Stein made his SEC Media Days debut and La Familia and The Ville squared off at Freedom Hall in Game Two of the first round of TBT. The former definitely outshone the latter. In fact, I don’t really see the need to talk about the latter, but the news is the news, so we must. We’re not masochists, so let’s start with the good stuff happening down in Tampa. Will Stein won Day 1 of SEC Media Days, his answer to Adam Luckett’s question about why Kentucky will win big under his watch — “Because of me” — going viral. Stein’s Curt Cignetti moment was the talk of Tampa on Monday, even eclipsing the media’s complaints about the terrible wifi. It was just one of many great quotes from Stein, whose energy and enthusiasm were on full display and reflected in Kenny Minchey, Willie Rodriguez, and Ty Bryant, the players who accompanied him. The day went so well that Nick Roush even took his big take to the big show, calling for Kentucky to beat Alabama in Week Two on set with Paul Finebaum. I’m sure that will get the folks in Tuscaloosa talking, which is exactly why Pawwwwl egged him on. We’ve got a ton of written and video content on the site and more on the way. Catch up on what we’ve churned out so far: ‘Because Of Me’: Will Stein went full Curt Cignetti at SEC Media Days ‘I am BBN’ and other great quotes from Will Stein at SEC Media Days Will Stein brought the juice to Florida for his SEC Media Days debut What Will Stein Still Needs to Learn About His Kentucky Football Team Will Stein expects Matt Ponatoski to play football at Kentucky this fall Why Promoting Kentucky Football Online is a Priority for Will Stein Need-to-Know from Greg Sankey’s 2026 State of the SEC Address Will Stein in the Main Room Will Stein with the local media Players with the local media Stein in the Electronic Media room 11 Personnel Kentucky’s turn is done, but the work is far from over in Tampa. Today, three of the Cats’ opponents take the stage, starting with Georgia. Shane Beamer and his sunglasses kick off the afternoon session, followed by Clark Lea and Vanderbilt. After shaking off the cobwebs from a night of mingling with their SEC colleagues, Roush, Luckett, and Steven Peake are dialed in for Day 2. Tuesday SEC Media Days Schedule 9:00 AM: John McDaid, SEC Coordinator of Football Officials 9:00 AM – 12:40 PM: AUBURN: Alex Golesh; Champ Anthony, DB; Byrum Brown, QB; Alex McPherson, K GEORGIA: Kirby Smart; Drew Bobo, OL; Gunner Stockton, QB; Raylen Wilson, LB 1:30 PM – 5:05 PM: SOUTH CAROLINA: Shane Beamer; Nyck Harbor, WR; LaNorris Sellers, QB; Peyton Williams, DB VANDERBILT: Clark Lea; Sedrick Alexander, RB; Issa Ouattara, DL; Junior Sherrill, WR Want more Kentucky football intel? Join KSR Plus for access to bonus content and KSBoard and House of Blue, the most vibrant message board communities in BBN. There will be a Game 3 of The Ville vs. La Familia I guess we need to talk about it. It was a bad night for La Familia in Louisville. Kentucky’s alumni team lost to The Ville 82-62 in Game Two at Freedom Hall, evening the series at one all. Game Three will be back at Historic Memorial Coliseum tomorrow night, but La Familia will need some help if they want to move on to round two. The Kentucky alumni team actually got off to a great start, jumping out to an early lead, but Montrezl Harrell took over, scoring 12 straight points to give The Ville a 24-18 lead with 4:32 to go in the second quarter. Harrell took advantage inside when Willie Cauley-Stein got hurt in Game One; with Willie limited in Game Two, Harrell feasted, finishing with 35 points and 8 rebounds, just one day after scoring 42 points in a BIG3 game in Chicago. On Kentucky’s side, Andrew Harrison was the leading scorer with 19 points, followed by Chris Coffey with 14. They were the only La Familia players to score in double figures. It was also Harrison’s first loss to Louisville in any capacity. Willie’s availability is once again something to watch ahead of Game Three. His foot was on ice most of the second half last night, a reaggravation of an injury he first suffered in 2019. Reminder: Marcus Lee, Reid Travis, Quade Green, and Archie Goodwin all pledged to play for La Familia but withdrew from the event. (So did Kerr Kriisa, but he had a valid reason.) Aaron Harrison, who just became a father, didn’t hesitate to share his feelings about it on social media. Knowing some of that heat was directed at him, Archie responded. How you not show up for the guys smh— Aaron Harrison (@AaronICE2) July 20, 2026 Coming to the internet when you coulda just hit me up or asked Twaney what’s going on is “sucka” shit. Do better dawg— Archie Goodwin (@archie_goodwin) July 21, 2026 The fact that yall assuming I just left the guys hanging without even knowing my situation is crazy. Stop always thinking of yourself. I got more to my life than just basketball!— Archie Goodwin (@archie_goodwin) July 21, 2026 Can La Familia rally for Game Three? General manager Twany Beckham told FS1 he has six players on standby trying to get to Lexington. Hopefully, some of them make it or Wednesday night could be rough. Sources Say recaps the Peach Jam Jack Pilgrim and Zack Geoghegan have watched a lot of basketball in the past week, last night’s game being by far the most depressing. Thankfully, I don’t think they’ll spend much time talking about TBT on today’s Sources Say. This afternoon (time still TBD), they’re going live to recap the Peach Jam after spending a week in North Augusta. While you wait, you can get a preview in written form, as their final takeaways went live last night. Plenty to dig into, ranging from who Kentucky was watching, Jamal Crawford, Ryan Hampton’s run, and an epic performance by Cayden Daughtry. Drew drives the Radio Show Matt Jones is out this week as he wraps up his fellowship with the Aspen Institute. Billy Rutledge drove the show on Monday, which meant more talk about weddings, SEC Media Days, and TBT. Today, Drew Franklin is in the big chair. Tune in for two hours of fun, most of which will be spent talking about Will Stein’s big Monday in Tampa. Here is the hosting schedule for the rest of the week: Tuesday: Drew Franklin Wednesday: Shannon The Dude Thursday: Maggie Davis Friday: Ryan Lemond Happy birthday, Adam Luckett! Finally, everyone wish Happy Birthday to our own Adam Luckett. KSR’s resident Football Guy is celebrating in his happy place, SEC Media Days. He had a heck of a Monday, so let’s hope that Tuesday is even better, even if he has to spend some of it talking to Shane Beamer.