The TBT is coming back to Lexington, and one famous Kentucky Wildcat is already on board
The TBT is coming back to Lexington in 2025, and one big name is already confirmed to represent Kentucky basketball in the national tournament.
On Monday morning, it was officially announced that La Familia a team that has consisted primarily of former UK players will once again compete in the TBT, short for The Basketball Tournament, a single-elimination summer event that culminates in a $1 million winner-take-all championship game.
Willie Cauley-Stein a UK basketball great and Wildcats fan favorite is the first player confirmed to be on the La Familia roster this year.
The early round games in Lexington will be played July 18-23 at Memorial Coliseum. The UK-affiliated team played its first three games in Rupp Arena last year, drawing nearly 4,000 fans for the first of those games and winning all three to advance to the quarterfinals.
That quarterfinal was played in Freedom Hall against a team filled with former Louisville Cardinals. The summer game drew 13,506 fans nearly doubling the previous TBT attendance record and ended with a near brawl between the UK and U of L players, who had to be separated by uniformed security guards after former Louisville player Chinanu Onuaku spit at former Kentucky player Nate Sestina on the court following the game.
La Familia beat The Ville in that game but lost in the TBT semifinals in Philadelphia, two victories short of the $1 million prize.
This year, the TBT will for the first time give host programs the opportunity to hold the quarterfinal, semifinal and $1 million championship game on their home court.
If two regional hosts end up playing each other in those rounds like the Kentucky and Louisville teams did last year the home tiebreaker will be determined by which host program sells 4,000 tickets the fastest.
The winner of the Lexington Regional will advance to TBT’s quarterfinals on July 28. The semifinals will be held on July 31, and the $1 million championship game will be played on Aug. 3.
Tickets for the preliminary rounds in Memorial Coliseum are scheduled to go on sale May 6. Fans can sign up for ticket and team notifications at.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope, just a few months into his new job at the time, was a vocal supporter of the La Familia team last year. Pope and his family attended the first game in Rupp Arena, and many of the current UK players were there for all four games in the state, including traveling as a team to see the former Wildcats defeat The Ville in Freedom Hall.
“We can’t wait to welcome back some Wildcat legends for TBT, because last summer was electric,” Pope said in a statement Monday. “I know Big Blue Nation and our team will be ready to help create an epic environment in Memorial and help the guys chase a championship.”
The current Kentucky players all of them in their first season with the Wildcats said that experience helped drive home the importance of basketball in the state, as well as fortify the seriousness that fans bring to the UK-Louisville rivalry.
Last year’s La Familia squad was built almost entirely with players from the John Calipari era, with Eric Bledsoe, Cauley-Stein, and Aaron and Andrew Harrison among the headliners. Cauley-Stein was named the TBT’s defensive player of the year in 2024.
The team was coached last year by Tyler Ulis, though he has since rejoined Calipari as an assistant at SEC-rival Arkansas. Former UK player Twany Beckham will return as the La Familia general manager this year.
