The John Clay Podcast

The Kentucky Wildcats went 4-0 in summer basketball's GLOBAL JAM 2023 from July 12-17 in Toronto, Canada. The Cats defeated Canada 89-72 in the gold medal game on Sunday night. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talks with Kentucky.com UK basketball reporter Ben Roberts about how the team played in Toronto. For more UK athletics coverage, visit www.kentucky.com. Follow Ben on Twitt...

Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talks with Kentucky.com recruiting writer Cameron Drummond about Cam's trip to Peach Jam, about UK basketball recruiting in general and the Wildcats' trip next week to Canada for Global Jam 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legalized sports gambling is set to launch in Kentucky this fall. Meanwhile, Historical Horse Racing and gaming halls continued to grow in popularity in the state. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talks with Steve Bittenbender, who covers all gambling issues for betkentucky.com about HHR and the start of sports gambling in the commonwealth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Kentucky basketball players Oscar Tshiebwe and Chris Livingston both announced on May 31, 2023 that they are staying in the NBA Draft. Meanwhile, Antonio Reeves withdrew from the draft, but says he will consider his options for next season. That leaves John Calipari with as few as seven scholarship players on his 2023-24 roster. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay and Kentucky.com U...

The 149th running of the Kentucky Derby takes place Saturday, May 6, 2023 at Churchill Downs. Post time is scheduled for 6:57 p.m. on NBC. John Clay and Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com handicap the race. They talk favorites, longshots, pace scenarios, betting strategies and more. For more Kentucky Derby coverage visit www.kentucky.com. Learn more about your ad choices....

Kentucky Derby 149 is set for Saturday, May 6, 2023 at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talks with Patrick Botner, John Saunier and Clayton Stone from the Pick 3 Pod horse racing podcast about the field and betting strategies for this year’s race. For more Kentucky Derby coverage visit www.kentucky.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

Kentucky football has wrapped up spring practice. Now the Wildcats are waiting to see where former quarterback Will Levis will be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday, April 27. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talks with Kentucky.com UK football beat writer Jon Hale about his impressions of spring practice. They also discuss Levis' UK career and NFL potential. Learn more a...

Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay and Kentucky basketball writer Ben Roberts of Kentucky.com look back at the Wildcats' 2022-23 season and look ahead to 2023-24 focusing on the incoming top-rated freshman class plus possible holdovers and additions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the No. 6 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the Kentucky Wildcats face the No. 11 seed Providence Friars on Friday, March 17, 2023 in Greensboro, NC. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talks with Kevin McNamara of WPRO and kevinmcsports.com about the Friars. He also talks with Mark Story of Kentucky.com about the Wildcats. CBS has the television co...

The Kentucky Boys' State Basketball Tournament begins Wednesday, March 15, 2023 and runs through Saturday, March 19, 2023 at Rupp Arena in Lexington. This year's Sweet 16 features defending champion George Rogers Clark, 2022 runner-up Warren Central as well as marquee names Reed Sheppard and Travis Perry. Jared Peck of Kentucky.com joins Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay to previe...

The Kentucky Girls' State Basketball Tournament begins Wednesday at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Sacred Heart is going for its third consecutive Kentucky state high school basketball title. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay asked Kentucky.com preps writer Jared Peck to preview the tournament, which runs through Saturday night's 7 p.m. championship game. Learn more about your ad choice...

Fresh from pummeling Auburn 86-54, Kentucky welcomes Vanderbilt's comeback Commodores to Rupp Arena on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. The SEC Network has the 7 p.m. telecast. UK defeated Vandy 69-53 in Nashville on Jan. 24. The 'Dores are a different team now. Having won six of its last seven, Jerry Stackhouse's club is 9-7 in the SEC. Kentucky is 11-5. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Cla...

Riding a three-game win streak, the Kentucky Wildcats welcome the Auburn Tigers to Rupp Arena for an SEC basketball game on Saturday, February 25, 2023. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talks with Jay Tate of Auburnsports.com and Cameron Drummond of Kentucky.com about the matchup. Drummond also talks about his package of stories about Overtime Elite, the basketball training facil...

Two teams fresh off big victories meet Saturday at Rupp Arena when the Kentucky Wildcats welcome the Tennessee Volunteers to Lexington. UK won 71-68 at Mississippi State on Wednesday. Meanwhile, No. 10-ranked Tennessee defeated No. 1-ranked Alabama 68-59 no Wednesday. The Wildcats defeated the Vols in Knoxville back on Jan. 14. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talks with Mike Wil...

Coming off back-to-back losses, and with six games left in the regular season, the Kentucky Wildcats travel to Starkville to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. The SEC Network has the 8:30 p.m. telecast. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talks with Stefan Krajisnik of the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson about the matchup. You'll also hear from UK assist...

In a battle of teams trying to build their resumes for the NCAA Tournament, the Kentucky Wildcats play the Arkansas Razorbacks in an important SEC men's basketball matchup on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at Rupp Arena. ESPN television has the 9 p.m. tipoff. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talked to Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about the matchup. You'll also hear from U...

A pair of teams 6-3 in the SEC men's basketball standings, the Kentucky Wildcats welcome the Florida Gators to Rupp Arena on Saturday night. Tipoff is 8:30 p.m. on SEC. To preview the game, Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talked to Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun about the Gators and Mark Story of Kentucky.com about the Wildcats. For more UK athletics coverage visit www.ke...

In what will be the final SEC/Big 12 Challenge, the Kentucky Wildcats play the Kansas Jayhawks at Rupp Arena on Saturday, January 28, 2023. ESPN has the 8 p.m. tipoff. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talked with Gary Bedore of the Kansas City Star about the Jayhawks and Ben Roberts of Kentucky.com about the Wildcats. For more UK athletics coverage visit www.kentuckysports.com. L...

Hoping to snap a two-game losing streak, the Kentucky Wildcats travel to Knoxville to face the No. 5-ranked Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, January 14, 2023. ESPN has television coverage of the noon tipoff. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talked with Mike Wilson of the Knoxville News-Sentinel about Rick Barnes' Volunteers. John also talked with Ben Roberts of Kentucky.com abou...

Fresh off a 15-point loss at Missouri, the Kentucky Wildcats return home to Rupp Arena on Saturday, December 31, 2022 to face the Louisville Cardinals in their annual in-state college basketball rivalry game. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talks with Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal about Louisville's disappointing start and about the matchup on Saturday. You'll also hear fr...

In a rematch of last year's Citrus Bowl, the Kentucky Wildcats meet the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Music City Bowl in Nashville on December 31, 2022. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talks with Tom Kakert of HawkeyeReport.com about Iowa. He also talks with Jon Hale of Kentucky.com about the Wildcats. Kickoff is scheduled for noon Saturday on ABC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Kentucky men's basketball opens SEC play on Wednesday, December 28, 2022 when the 8-3 Wildcats take on the 11-1 Missouri Tigers in Columbia. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on the SEC Network. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talked to Matt Stahl of the Columbia Daily Tribune about Mizzou's hot start under new head coach Dennis Gates. John also talked with Cameron Drummond of Kentucky.c...

The Kentucky Wildcats take on the UCLA Bruins in college basketball's CBS Sports Classic on Saturday, December 17, 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Ohio State and North Carolina play the first game at 3 p.m., followed by UK-UCLA, both on CBS. To preview the game, Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talked with Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times about the Bruins and Ben Rob...

The Kentucky State High School Football Championships take place Friday, December, 2022 and Saturday Dec. 3, 2022. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist John Clay talked to Kentucky.com preps reporter Jared Peck to get a breakdown on all six matchups. Here's the schedule: Friday 12 p.m. - Class A: Pikeville vs. Raceland 4 p.m. - Class 2A: Beechwood vs. Mayfield 8 p.m. - Class 4A: Corbin vs. Boy...

The Kentucky Wildcats retained the Governor's Cup with a 26-13 victory over the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday, November 26, 2022. Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnists John Clay and Mark Story discuss UK football's fourth straight win over U of L. They also talk a little Kentucky basketball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices