This Kentucky basketball Senior Night will be different. Here’s what you need to know.

The Rupp Arena court will be a crowded place a few minutes before Kentucky tips off with Vanderbilt on Wednesday night, the final home game of the 2022-23 basketball season.

Senior Night hasn’t always been the busiest of times during John Calipari’s 14-year tenure as head coach, with so many of his past players departing early for the pros, often leaving walk-ons — and, more recently, graduate transfers — as the main attractions before the Wildcats’ final home game.

This time around, early-arriving UK fans will have plenty of reason to cheer. Not one, not two, but six Wildcats are scheduled to go through Senior Night festivities before the Kentucky-Vandy game. That’ll be the highest number of UK players to participate in the tradition since six Cats did it in 1975.

There’s a notable wrinkle to this Senior Night, however. All six of the Kentucky players who will be honored on the court Wednesday have another season of college basketball eligibility remaining.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the 2020-21 season, all players who competed at that time were granted an extra year of eligibility. And just because Kentucky’s six seniors have decided to “walk” Wednesday night doesn’t mean they’ve made a final decision regarding their basketball futures.

Each of those UK players — Brennan Canada, CJ Fredrick, Antonio Reeves, Jacob Toppin, Oscar Tshiebwe and Sahvir Wheeler — could technically return to the Wildcats for 2023-24. No final decisions are expected to be made until after UK is finished with this season.

Recently, Davion Mintz, who came to Kentucky as a graduate transfer for the pandemic-impacted 2020-21 season, was honored on Senior Night at the end of that campaign and then decided to return for another run with the Wildcats, going through the ceremony a second time at the end of last season.

So, while Wednesday night will likely be goodbye for a few of this year’s seniors, it’s at least possible — perhaps probable — that one or more of the Kentucky players honored on the court will be back in blue and white next season.

Brennan Canada

Years at UK: 2019-present.

Hometown: Mount Sterling, Ky.

Canada is the only native Kentuckian in this year’s senior class, as well as the only player to spend four seasons with the Wildcats’ program. Canada came to UK in 2019 as a walk-on — the other five who will walk Wednesday transferred in as scholarship players at various points — and he quickly emerged as an important practice player for the Wildcats, leading Calipari to put him on scholarship midway through this season. Canada told the Herald-Leader earlier this month that he is considering a return for a fifth year at Kentucky, though no decisions have been made.

CJ Fredrick

Years at UK: 2021-present.

Hometown: Cincinnati.

Fredrick is a Cincinnati native but played his high school ball just across the Ohio River at Covington Catholic, winning a Kentucky state title his senior year. He spent three seasons at Iowa — the first as a redshirt — before transferring to UK for the 2021-22 season, though he suffered a major injury before playing a game last winter and didn’t make his Wildcats debut until this season. It’s possible that Kentucky could get Fredrick two more seasons of eligibility — due to his injury history and that “free COVID year” provision — but he turns 24 years old this summer, and it’s still unclear what the 6-foot-3 guard will do next. Fredrick was recently engaged to UK women’s basketball player Blair Green, who went through her own Senior Day ceremony Sunday in Memorial Coliseum.

Antonio Reeves

Years at UK: 2022-present.

Hometown: Chicago.

The only senior who’s also a newcomer to Kentucky basketball, Reeves has become one of the Wildcats’ top scorers after spending his first three seasons in college at Illinois State. The 6-5 guard has expanded his game in his first year at UK, though he is not currently projected as an NBA Draft prospect following this season. A return to Lexington would give Reeves the opportunity to complete his degree, further develop his game and perhaps be a veteran leader in a backcourt that will be stacked with highly touted freshmen next season.

Jacob Toppin

Years at UK: 2020-present.

Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Of the six seniors on Kentucky’s roster, Toppin has played the most games for the Wildcats, with Wednesday night marking his 82nd appearance in a UK uniform. Toppin spent his first season at Rhode Island before transferring to UK for the 2020-21 campaign, and he’s been a regular starter for the Wildcats this season after serving as a bench player for his first two years. Toppin, who turns 23 in May, went through the NBA Draft process last year, and — while he’s not currently projected as a 2023 draft pick — is expected to begin his professional career at the conclusion of this season. No decision has been announced, but this could very well be Toppin’s final home game as a Wildcat.

Oscar Tshiebwe

Years at UK: 2021-present.

Hometown: Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The reigning national player of the year, Tshiebwe came to Kentucky in the middle of the 2020-21 season after playing a year and a half at West Virginia. He took college basketball by storm in his first season with the Wildcats, leading the country in rebounding, earning the nation’s top player honors, and becoming a fan favorite across the commonwealth. He likely would have been an NBA Draft pick last season, but he chose to return to UK for another run. His pro stock has taken a bit of a hit over the past few months — Tshiebwe is currently No. 67 on ESPN’s prospects list — and it’s not yet clear what he will decide to do after this season. There’s a good chance Wednesday night will mark Tshiebwe’s final game in Rupp Arena.

Sahvir Wheeler

Years at UK: 2021-present.

Hometown: Houston.

Wheeler spent his first two seasons of college basketball at Georgia before transferring to Kentucky for the 2021-22 season. He’s led the Southeastern Conference in assists the past two seasons and was once again atop that list before an ankle injury sidelined him earlier this month. Wheeler, who turned 22 last month, has also gone through the NBA Draft process in the past, though the 5-9 point guard is not currently regarded as a likely selection. He’s also missed the past six games with an ankle injury, and there’s no declared timetable for his return to the court. The expectation is that Wheeler will not return to the UK program next season, which would make Wednesday his final appearance as a Kentucky player in Rupp Arena.

Next game

Vanderbilt at Kentucky

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

TV: SEC Network

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Records: Vanderbilt 16-13 (9-7 SEC); Kentucky 20-9 (11-5)

Series: Kentucky leads 155-47

Last meeting: Kentucky won 69-53 on Jan. 24, 2023, in Nashville

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