Kentucky head coach John Calipari will have an additional walk-on spot to fill for his 2022-23 roster as Zan Payne has reportedly entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer.

Payne is the son of former Kentucky assistant and new Louisville head coach Kenny Payne.

The 6-foot-4 guard attended Lexington Catholic and chose to walk on with the Wildcats ahead of the 2018-19 season.

He redshirted his first season in Lexington while recovering from a knee injury before riding UK’s bench the next three seasons playing sparingly in early-season blowouts.

Payne did not see any playing time during the 2019-20 season, which was the final one for his father in Lexington as following the season, the elder Payne took an assistant coaching job with the New York Knicks.

“It’s definitely different not having him around,” Payne said after his father left for the Knicks job. “Practice is way different. But we’re still doing good. We’re all on track. I still talk to him every day.”

With his dad in the Big Apple, Zan made his college debut during the 2020-21 season, recording his first career points and two rebounds in three minutes of action in the regular-season finale vs. South Carolina.

Last season Payne scored eight points, had two rebounds and a steal was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in nine games. He scored a late basket in a blowout win over Mount Saint Mary’s that secured a big-money bet win for one Point Bet USA Gambler who bet on the Wildcats to cover the -24.5 spread as with his basket UK won the game by 25 points at 80-55.

Payne has not announced his next step, but there’s a chance he could use his final season of college eligibility to spend time with his father at Louisville or look to play at a mid-major in hopes of finding playing time.

The final two walk-ons remaining on Kentucky’s roster are Brennan Canada and Kareem Watkins.

With Payne’s departure, eight players departed from the Cats 2021-22 roster as Tyty Washington (NBA Draft), Keion Brooks (NBA Draft/Transfer Portal), Shaedon Sharpe (NBA Draft), Bryce Hopkins (Transferred to Providence), Dontaie Allen (Transferred to Western Kentucky), Kellan Grady (out of eligibility) and Davion Mintz (out of eligibility) are all gone.

Jacob Toppin still has his name in the NBA Draft but is expected to return to Lexington along with consensus national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe, point guard Sahvir Wheeler, forwards Daimion Collinsand Lance Ware and now healthy sharpshooter CJ Fredrick They’ll join the walk-ons Canada and Watkins, incoming freshman Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston, along with Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves on Calipari’s roster this winter.

Kentucky is also still open to adding another scholarship player or two and will likely bring in another walk-on before the end of the offseason.