# List of University of Kentucky alumni

This is a list of notable people associated with the University of Kentucky in the United States.

## Notable alumni (non-sports)
### Academia and research

| Name | Years attended/ degree received | Notability |
| Ronald Akers | PhD 1966 | Professor Emeritus of Criminology at the University of Florida |
| Diogenes Allen | BA 1954 | Professor of Philosophy at Princeton Theological Seminary; Rhodes Scholar |
| W. David Arnett | BS 1961 | Regents Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Arizona |
| Robert A. Baker | BA 1948, MA 1949 | Professor of Psychology at the University of Kentucky; UFO skeptic |
| Albert Balows | | Clinical microbiologist and president of the American Society for Microbiology |
| William M. Bass | MS 1956 | Professor of Forensic Anthropology at the University of Tennessee |
| George Billman | PhD 1980 | Professor of physiology at The Ohio State University |
| Charles E. Bishop | MS 1948 | Chancellor of the University of Maryland, College Park, President of the University of Arkansas, Chancellor of the University of Houston System |
| Meir Bialer | post-doctoral studies 1979–80 | David H. Eisenberg Professor of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel |
| Sarah Gibson Blanding | BA 1923 | First female president of Vassar College |
| Amy L. Bondurant | BA 1973 | Former U.S. Ambassador to the OECD |
| M. Christopher Brown II | MS 1994 | President of Alcorn State University and Kentucky State University |
| Robert A. Bryan | MA 1951, PhD 1956 | President of the University of Florida, University of Central Florida, and University of South Florida |
| Francisco Xavier Castellanos | R 1991 | Director of Research at the New York University Child Research Center |
| Lois Mai Chan | PhD 1980 | Professor of Library Science at the University of Kentucky |
| Dale T. Chapman | BS | President of Lewis and Clark Community College |
| Philip B. Coulter | 1961–1962 (did not graduate) | Professor Emeritus of Political Science and former Dean at the University of New Orleans |
| Matt Cutts | BS 1995 | Software engineer |
| Paul W. Davenport | PhD 1980 | Professor of Physiology at the University of Florida |
| Mark E. Davis | BS 1977, MS 1978, PhD 1981 | Professor of Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology |
| Brady J. Deaton | BS 1966, MA 1968 | Chancellor of the University of Missouri |
| Peter Dendle | BA 1990, MA 1993 | Professor of English at Penn State Mont Alto |
| Robert Denhardt | PhD 1968 | Professor of Public Policy at the University of Southern California |
| Vijay K. Dhir | PhD 1972 | Former Dean of the University of California, Los Angeles Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science |
| Joseph T. DiPiro | PharmD 1981 | Dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy |
| C. Kenneth Dodd Jr. | BS 1971 | Herpetologist and conservationist |
| Charles M. Dollar | MA 1963, PhD 1966 | Electronic records program manager at the National Archives and Records Administration and Professor at the University of British Columbia |
| Herman Lee Donovan | BS 1914, LLD 1933 | Former President of the University of Kentucky |
| Michael Dorff | PhD 1997 | Mathematician at Brigham Young University, President of the Mathematical Association of America, and Founder of the Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics |
| Ronald Enroth | MA 1963, PhD 1967 | Professor of Sociology at Westmont College |
| Lori Stewart Gonzalez | B.A. | 23rd President of Ohio University |
| Virginia Griffing | BS, 1937 | Physicist and chemist; first woman on the faculty of Catholic University of America's physics department |
| Bradlee L. Heckmann | BS 2009 | Neuroimmunologist and cell biologist |
| Edward H. Kass | AB 1939; MS 1941 | physician, medical school professor, medical researcher in infectious diseases, medical journal editor, and historian of medicine |
| A. D. Kirwan | AB 1926 | Former President of the University of Kentucky |
| William English Kirwan | AB 1960 | Chancellor of the University System of Maryland |
| John E. Leland | PhD 1994 | Director of the University of Dayton Research Institute |
| Helen Matthews Lewis | PhD 1970 | Sociologist, historian, and activist |
| William Lipscomb | BS 1941 | 1976 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry |
| Deanna B. Marcum | MLS 1971 | President of the Council on Library and Information Resources and Associate Librarian at the Library of Congress |
| Anne Hazen McFarland, M.D. | | Physician and medical journal editor |
| Irving Millman | | Virologist and microbiologist |
| Thomas Hunt Morgan | BS 1886 | Natural scientist and winner of the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine |
| Thomas Volney Munson | BS 1870, MS 1893, DSc 1906 | Horticulturalist |
| Lee T. Todd Jr. | BS 1968 | Former president of the University of Kentucky; inventor; entrepreneur |
| Nancy Tomes | BA 1974 | Author and eminent historian of public health; recipient of the Bancroft Prize in 2017; Distinguished Professor, Stony Brook University |

### Business

| Name | Years attended/ degree received | Notability |
| Don Ball | Received honorary degrees in 2016 | Founder of Ball Homes |
| Wendell Cherry | BA 1957, LLB 1959 | Founder of Humana |
| Joe Craft | BS 1972, JD 1976 | CEO of Alliance Resource Partners, a large coal producer, and philanthropist |
| Carol Martin "Bill" Gatton | BS 1954 | Businessman and major contributor to the university; namesake of College of Business and Economics |
| Rodney McMullen | BS 1981, MS 1982 | CEO of The Kroger Company |
| Sadiqa Reynolds | JD | CEO of the Perception Institute; former president and CEO of the Louisville Urban League |
| Chris T. Sullivan | BS 1972 | Founder of Outback Steakhouse |
| Paul C. Varga | Bachelor of Business Admin | Former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Brown–Forman |

### Entertainment

| Name | Years attended/ degree received | Notability |
| Adunni Ade | BS 2008 | Actress and model |
| Sara Bradley | | Chef |
| Ramsey Carpenter | BA 2013 | Miss Kentucky 2014 |
| Leticia Cline | BS 2000 | Model |
| Wes Cowan | MA | Auctioneer and appraiser for Antiques Roadshow and History Detectives |
| Joseph David-Jones | (did not graduate) | Actor |
| Clark Janell Davis | BA 2018 | Miss Kentucky 2015 |
| Jenna Day | BA 2014 | Miss Kentucky 2013 |
| Jimmy Dunne | BA 1977 | Songwriter, recording artist, composer, film and television producer, and entrepreneur |
| Chris Easterly | BA 1998 | Screenwriter |
| Miss Elizabeth | BA | WWF and WCW professional wrestling manager, wife of Randy Savage |
| Richard Bunger Evans | (did not graduate) | Composer and pianist |
| Lyndsey Gough | 2015 | On-air TV sports anchor |
| Ashley Judd | BA 2007 | Actress; celebrity fan of the Wildcats (men's) basketball team |
| Glenn Kotche | BM 1994 | Percussionist and composer, best known as drummer for Chicago rock band Wilco; named the 41st greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008 |
| Jean Ritchie | AB 1946 | Folk musician, singer, and songwriter who plays the Appalachian dulcimer |
| Reshma Shetty | MM, 2003 | Singer, actress, Royal Pains |
| Harry Dean Stanton | | Actor known for playing Roman Grant on Big Love |
| Jiaoying Summers | BS 2012 | Stand-up comedian and actress |
| Kristine Sutherland | | Actress, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids |
| Rudy Vaughn | BM 2003 | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Sullivan Canaday White | BA 1988 | Theater producer, director, and educator |

### Government, law, and public policy

    Note: Individuals who belong in multiple sections appear in the first relevant section.

#### Governors

| Name | Years attended/ degree received | Notability |
| J. C. W. Beckham | 1889 | Former Governor of Kentucky |
| Steve Beshear | BA 1966, JD 1968 | Former Governor of Kentucky |
| Ned Breathitt | BS 1948, LLB 1950 | Former Governor of Kentucky |
| John Y. Brown Jr. | BA 1957, LLB 1960 | Former Governor of Kentucky |
| Julian Carroll | BA 1954, LLB 1956 | Former Governor of Kentucky |
| Albert B. "Happy" Chandler | LLB 1924, LLD 1936 | Governor of Kentucky, U.S. Senator from Kentucky, Commissioner of Major League Baseball responsible for integration and was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame |
| Earle Clements | AB 1917 | Former Governor of Kentucky |
| Martha Layne Collins | BS 1959 | Former Governor of Kentucky |
| Bert Combs | LLB 1937 | Former Governor of Kentucky, Former judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit |
| Milton C. Elstner | BA 1872 JD ? | Three-time United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana under five presidents |
| William J. Fields | | Former Governor of Kentucky, Former Representative from Kentucky's 9th congressional district |
| Ernie Fletcher | BS 1974, MD 1984 | Former Governor of Kentucky, former Representative from Kentucky's 6th congressional district |
| Wendell Ford | 1942–1943 (did not graduate) | Former Governor of Kentucky, Former Senator from Kentucky |
| Keen Johnson | BA 1922 | Former Governor of Kentucky |
| Paul E. Patton | BS 1959 | Two-term Governor of Kentucky |
| Beverly Perdue | BA 1969 | Former Governor of North Carolina |
| James G. Scrugham | BME 1900, ME 1906 | Former Governor of Nevada, Former Senator from Nevada, Former Representative from Nevada's at-large congressional district |
| Augustus Owsley Stanley | 1886–1888 (did not graduate) | Former Governor of Kentucky, Former Senator from Kentucky, Former Representative from Kentucky's 2nd congressional district |
| Ted Strickland | MA 1966, PhD 1980 | Former Governor of Ohio |
| Tom Jefferson Terral | 1905–1906 (did not graduate) | Governor of Arkansas, 1925–1927 |
| Wallace Wilkinson | 1960–1962 (did not graduate) | Former Governor of Kentucky |

#### Members of the US Congress

| Name | Years attended/ degree received | Notability |
| Scotty Baesler | BS 1963, JD 1966 | Former U.S. Representative from Kentucky |
| Andy Barr | JD 2001 | United States Representative from Kentucky's 6th Congressional District |
| John B. Breckinridge | AB 1937, LLB 1939 | Former Representative from Kentucky's 6th congressional district |
| John Y. Brown Sr. | LLB 1926 | Former Representative from Kentucky's At-large congressional district |
| Albert B. "Ben" Chandler | BA 1983, JD 1986 | Former U.S. Representative from Kentucky's 6th congressional district |
| Virgil Chapman | 1918 | Former Senator from Kentucky, former Representative from Kentucky's 6th congressional district |
| David Grant Colson | 1879–1880 (did not graduate) | Former Representative from Kentucky's 11th congressional district |
| William P. Curlin Jr. | AB 1958, LLB 1962 | Former Representative from Kentucky's 6th congressional district |
| Leonard S. Echols | 1894 | Former U.S. Representative from West Virginia's 5th congressional district |
| Walter Dee Huddleston | BA 1949 | Former Senator from Kentucky |
| Ron Lewis | BA 1969 | Former U.S. representative from Kentucky's 2nd congressional district |
| Ken Lucas | BS 1955 | Former U.S. representative from Kentucky's 4th congressional district |
| Mitch McConnell | JD 1967 | U.S. Senator from Kentucky, current Senate Minority Leader |
| Morgan McGarvey | JD | United States Representative from Kentucky's 3rd congressional district |
| Hal Rogers | AB 1962, LLB 1964 | United States Representative from Kentucky's 5th congressional district |
| Eugene Siler | 1922 | Former Representative from Kentucky's 8th and 5th congressional districts |
| Louise Slaughter | BS 1951, MS 1953 | Former United States Representative from New York's 25th congressional district |
| Marcus A. Smith | 1876 | Former Senator from Arizona |
| William A. Stanfill | LLB 1912 | Former Senator from Kentucky |
| Frank Stubblefield | BS 1932 | Former Representative from Kentucky's 1st congressional district |
| King Swope | 1916 | Former Representative from Kentucky's 8th congressional district |
| Thomas R. Underwood | 1917 | Former Senator from Kentucky, former Representative from Kentucky's 6th congressional district |
| Beverly M. Vincent | | Former Representative from Kentucky's 2nd congressional district |
| John C. Watts | AB 1925, LLB 1927 | Former Representative from Kentucky's 6th congressional district |
| John D. White | | Former Representative from Kentucky's 10th congressional district |
| Ed Whitfield | BS 1965, JD 1969 | Former U.S. Representative from Kentucky's 1st congressional district |

#### US federal and state judges

| Name | Years attended/ degree received | Notability |
| Thomas A. Ballantine Jr. | BA 1948 | District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky |
| David Bunning | BA 1988, JD 1991 | District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky |
| Karen K. Caldwell | JD 1980 | Chief Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky |
| Jennifer B. Coffman | BA 1969, MS 1971, JD 1978 | Chief Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky and District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky |
| Bill Cunningham | JD 1969 | Former Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court |
| Charles I. Dawson | (did not graduate) | District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky |
| Karl Spillman Forester | BA 1962, JD 1966 | District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky |
| William Gant | LLB 1946 | Former Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court |
| Joseph Robert Goeke | JD 1975 | Senior judge for the United States Tax Court |
| James Fleming Gordon | LLB 1941 | District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky |
| Harlan Hobart Grooms | LLB 1926 | District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama |
| David J. Hale | JD 1992 | District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky |
| John G. Heyburn II | JD 1976 | District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky |
| Joseph Martin Hood | BS 1965, JD 1972 | District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky |
| Edward Huggins Johnstone | JD 1949 | District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky |
| Joseph H. McKinley Jr. | BS 1976 | District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky |
| John E. Miller | LLB 1912 | District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas |
| Bernard Thomas Moynahan Jr. | AB 1935, LLB 1938 | Former District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky |
| Scott Elgin Reed | LLB 1945 | District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky |
| Samuel Murray Rosenstein | AB 1928 | judge for the Customs Court and the Court of International Trade |
| Thomas B. Russell | JD 1970 | District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky |
| Gregory N. Stivers | LLB 1912 | District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky |
| Gregory F. Van Tatenhove | JD 1989 | District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky |
| Henry Rupert Wilhoit Jr. | LLB 1960 | District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky |
| J. Craig Wright | BA 1951 | Former Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court |

#### Other US political and legal figures

| Name | Years attended/ degree received | Notability |
| Bob Babbage | MA 1988 | Former Secretary of State of Kentucky |
| Allison Ball | JD 2008 | Kentucky State Treasurer |
| Danny Bentley | BS PharmD | Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives |
| Robert Benvenuti | BS 1988, MPA 1991, JD 1998 | Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives |
| Karen Berg | | Physician, professor, and member of the Kentucky State Senate |
| Richard Briggs | MD 1978 | Tennessee State Senator |
| John Young Brown III | JD 1992 | Former Secretary of State of Kentucky |
| Nick Casey | BS 1974 | Former Chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party |
| Russell Coleman | BA 1998, JD 2004 | United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky |
| Oscar M. Corbin Jr. | BS 1940 | Former Mayor of Fort Myers, Florida |
| Will Coursey | BA | Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives |
| Kelly Knight Craft (née Guilfoil) | BA 1984 | United States Ambassador to the United Nations and United States Ambassador to Canada |
| Jesse Crenshaw | JD 1974 | Former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives |
| Robert Damron | BA, MBA | Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives |
| James J. Davidson | 1883 | US Representative-elect, died before taking the oath |
| Mike Denham | 1972 | Former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives |
| Bob DeWeese | BS 1957 | Former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives |
| James C. Duff | BA 1975 | Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts |
| Mike Duncan | JD 1974 | Former chairman of the Republican National Committee and current governor of the US Postal Service |
| Robert M. Duncan Jr. | JD 2003 | United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky |
| Adam Edelen | | Auditor of Public Accounts for Kentucky |
| A. M. Edwards | JD 1929 | Secretary of Guam |
| Christine A. Elder | BA 1989 | US Ambassador to Liberia |
| C. B. Embry | (did not graduate) | Member of the Kentucky State Senate |
| Gatewood Galbraith | BA 1974, JD 1977 | Activist and five-time candidate for Governor of Kentucky |
| Sara Beth Gregory | BA 2003, JD 2007 | Former member of the Kentucky State Senate, former state representative; lawyer in Monticello |
| Kerry B. Harvey | JD 1982 | Former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky |
| Jerry Lundergan | 1969 | Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party |
| Russ Mobley | BA, MA | Former state representative from Taylor and Adair counties |
| Daniel Mongiardo | MD 1986 | Former Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky |
| Steve Pence | JD 1981 | Former Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky |
| Timothy N. Philpot | BS 1974, JD 1977 | Two-term State Senator of Kentucky (1991–98), family court circuit judge (2004–present) |
| Mary Martha Presley Merritt | BA | Two-term member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, President of the West Virginia Board of Education, and West Virginia Worker's Compensation Commissioner |
| Mary Ann Tobin | BS 1963 | Four-term member of the Kentucky House of Representatives (1976–84), Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts (1984–88) |
| Max Wise | MA 1999 | FBI agent, member of the Kentucky Senate |
| Joe Wright | BS 1962 | Kentucky State Senator (1976–92); party floor leader (1981–92); 1996 party nominee for U.S. Congress; businessman |
| Debbie Warner | BS | Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates |
| Whitney Westerfield | | Politician |

### Journalism and literature

| Name | Years attended/ degree received | Notability |
| Raymond Abbott | 1967–1968 (did not graduate) | Whiting Award-winning novelist |
| Sam Abell | BA 1969 | National Geographic photographer |
| Wendell Berry | BA 1956, MA 1957 | Poet, essayist and farmer |
| Maxine Cheshire | 1949–1950 (did not graduate) | Reporter for The Washington Post |
| Elizabeth Gould Davis | MA 1951 | Author of The First Sex |
| Charles Dickinson | BA 1973 | Author |
| Michael Eaves | BA 1994 | Sportscaster |
| Tom Hammond | BS 1967 | Sportscaster |
| Elizabeth Hardwick | AB 1938, MA 1939 | Writer |
| David Winfield Huddleston | BA 1971 | Christian author and minister |
| Kim Yong-ik | MA 1953 | Author |
| Elizabeth Madox Roberts | 1900 (did not graduate) | Poet and novelist |
| Don Rosa | BS 1973 | Eisner Award-winning writer and artist of Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comic books |
| Anne Shelby | MA 1981 | Children's book writer |
| Michael M. York | BA 1974 | Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting |

### Military

| Name | Years attended/ degree received | Notability |
| William VanMeter Alford Jr. | BA, JD | Chief of Staff for the United States Pacific Command |
| John A. Dabney | BA 1926 | Lieutenant General, United States Army |
| Hugh M. Milton II | BS 1919, MS 1922 | United States Under Secretary of the Army, 1958–1961 |
| Elvis Jacob Stahr Jr. | AB 1936 | Secretary of the Army under President John F. Kennedy, President of Indiana University and West Virginia University, and President of The National Audubon Society |

### Miscellaneous

| Name | Years attended/ degree received | Notability |
| Terry Adkins | MFA 1979 | Interdisciplinary artist and musician |
| Joyce Hamilton Berry | MA 1967, PhD 1970 | Clinical psychologist |
| Madeline McDowell Breckinridge | 1890–1894 (did not graduate) | Leader of the women's suffrage movement |
| Stephen Bright | BA 1971, JD 1974 | President of the Southern Center for Human Rights |
| David Horace Clift | BS 1930 | President of the American Library Association |
| P. J. Conkwright | BA 1928 | Graphic designer and typographer |
| Gracyn Courtright | Senior | Federally charged participant in the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol |
| Brenda Cowan | 1986 | Lexington's first black female firefighter; died in the line of duty |
| G. Lindsey Davis | MS 1972 | Methodist bishop |
| Mary Desha | (did not graduate) | Founder of the Daughters of the American Revolution |
| Edward A. Eckenhoff | MA 1968 | Founder and president of the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C. |
| Aaron Elam (OpTic Ace) | 2015 | Professional gamer |
| Pam Elam | BA 1972, JD 1975 | Feminist activist |
| Mark P. Finlay | B.Arch 1977 | Architect |
| Belinda Mason | BA 1980 | AIDS activist and member of the U.S. National Commission on AIDS |
| Story Musgrave | MS 1966 | Astronaut |
| Henderson Ryan | 1877 | Architect |
| John T. Scopes | BA 1924 | Defendant in the Scopes Trial |
| Yang Sung-chul | PhD 1970 | Political scientist, South Korean ambassador to the United States (2000–2003) |

## Sports alumni
### Basketball

| Name | Years attended | Notable for |
| Derek Anderson | 1994–1997 | Former NBA player (2005–06 NBA champion) |
| Kelenna Azubuike | 2002–2005 | Former NBA Golden State Warriors player |
| Edrice Adebayo | 2016–2017 | 14th pick in the 2017 NBA draft, NBA player for the Miami Heat |
| Eric Bledsoe | 2009–2010 | One of five first-round picks from UK in the 2010 NBA draft and current player for the Portland Trail Blazers |
| Keith Bogans | 1999–2003 | Former NBA player |
| Devin Booker | 2014–2015 | NBA player for the Phoenix Suns, all-time leading scorer |
| Sam Bowie | 1979–1984 | 2nd pick in 1984 NBA draft (ahead of Michael Jordan) |
| Isaiah Briscoe | 2015–2017 | NBA player |
| Ramel Bradley | 2004–2008 | Playing for Hapoel Holon in the Israeli Super League |
| Dwane Casey | | Former Minnesota Timberwolves; current head coach for the Detroit Pistons |
| Rex Chapman | 1986–1988 | Former NBA player and first-ever draft choice in Charlotte Hornets franchise history |
| Bill Cofield | MS 1967 | Basketball coach for the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team |
| DeMarcus Cousins | 2009–2010 | One of five first-round picks from UK in the 2010 NBA draft |
| Joe Crawford | 2004–2008 | Former NBA New York Knicks player; 2nd round draft; 58th pick overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers |
| Louis Dampier | 1965–1967 | Played for the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA; scored the most points in ABA history |
| Erik Daniels | 2000–2004 | NBDL Fayetteville Patriots player |
| Anthony Davis | 2011–2012 | Consensus men's college player of the year in 2011–12; now in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers |
| Tony Delk | 1992–1996 | Former NBA player |
| Victoria Dunlap | 2007–2011 | WNBA player with the Washington Mystics |
| Fabulous Five | N/A | 1948 Olympic basketball gold medalists |
| Richie Farmer | 1988–1992 | Never played professional basketball; former Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture, 2003–2011; spent two years in federal prison for crimes committed while Commissioner of Agriculture |
| Gerald Fitch | 2000–2004 | TBL Galatasaray Cafe Crown player |
| Travis Ford | 1990–1994 | Oklahoma State University men's basketball head coach |
| De'Aaron Fox | 2016–2017 | 5th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, NBA player for the Sacramento Kings |
| Wenyen Gabriel | 2016–2018 | South Sudanese-American basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League |
| Jack Givens | 1974–1978 | 1978 NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player |
| Kevin Grevey | 1972–1975 | Former NBA player |
| Josh Harrellson | 2008–2011 | Former NBA player |
| Chuck Hayes | 2001–2005 | Former NBA player |
| Tyler Herro | 2018–2019 | 13th pick in the 2019 NBA draft, NBA player for the Miami Heat |
| Dan Issel | 1966–1970 | All-time leading men's scorer and former Denver Nuggets head coach |
| Terrence Jones | 2010–2012 | Former NBA player |
| Enes Kanter Freedom | 2010–2011 | 3rd pick in the 2011 NBA draft and current player for the Boston Celtics |
| Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | 2011–2012 | 2nd pick in the 2012 NBA draft |
| Brandon Knight | 2010–2011 | 8th pick in the 2011 NBA draft and current player for the Dallas Mavericks |
| Doron Lamb | 2010–2012 | Former NBA player |
| James Lee | 1975–1978 | Second round draft pick and former CBA player |
| Trey Lyles | 2014–2015 | NBA player for the Sacramento Kings |
| Skal Labissière | 2015–2016 | NBA player |
| Kyle Macy | 1976–1979 | Former Morehead State University men's basketball head coach |
| Jamaal Magloire | 1996–2000 | Former NBA player |
| Jamal Mashburn | 1990–1993 | Former NBA All-Star; current ESPN basketball analyst |
| Steve Masiello | 1996–2000 | Current head coach at Manhattan College |
| Walter McCarty | 1992–1996 | Former NBA player; current assistant coach at the University of Louisville |
| Stacy McIntyre | 1988–1992 | College basketball coach, Air Force Falcons women's basketball head coach (2024–present) |
| Ron Mercer | 1995–1997 | Current NBA free agent who has played with seven different teams |
| Malik Monk | 2016–2017 | 11th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, NBA player for the Sacramento Kings |
| Darius Miller | 2008–2012 | Former NBA player; currently playing in Germany with Brose Baskets |
| Dirk Minniefield | 1979–1983 | Former NBA player |
| Nazr Mohammed | 1995–1998 | Former NBA player; member of the 2004–05 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs |
| Randolph Morris | 2004–2007 | Former NBA player |
| Jamal Murray | 2015–2016 | 7th pick in the 2016 NBA draft for the Denver Nuggets, holds the record for most consecutive games with a three pointer |
| Cotton Nash | 1961–1964 | Former NBA player and MLB outfielder |
| Nerlens Noel | 2012–2013 | 6th pick in the 2013 NBA draft |
| Bernard Opper | 1936–1939 | All-American basketball player for the Wildcats and professional player |
| Daniel Orton | 2009–2010 | One of five first-round picks from UK in the 2010 NBA draft |
| Scott Padgett | 1994–1999 | Former NBA and ACB player; current head coach at Samford University |
| Patrick Patterson | 2007–2010 | One of five first-round picks from UK in the 2010 NBA draft |
| John Pelphrey | 1988–1992 | Current assistant at the University of Florida; former head coach at the University of Arkansas |
| Mike Phillips | 1975–1978 | Third Round draft pick and former Liga ACB player |
| Mark Pope | 1993–1996 | Former NBA player; current head coach at the University of Kentucky |
| Alex Poythress | 2012–2016 | American-Ivorian basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier Basketball League, former NBA player |
| Tayshaun Prince | 1998–2002 | Former NBA player; member of the 2003–04 NBA champion Detroit Pistons |
| Frank Ramsey | 1950–1954 | Seven-time NBA champion |
| Julius Randle | 2013–2014 | NBA player for the New York Knicks |
| Pat Riley | 1963–1967 | NBA Miami Heat former coach, and current team president; coached the 2005–06 NBA champion Miami Heat |
| Rick Robey | 1975–1978 | Third overall draft pick in 1978; played with the Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, and Phoenix Suns; member of the Celtics' 1981 NBA Championship team |
| Rajon Rondo | 2004–2006 | NBA Cleveland Cavaliers player; member of the 2007–08 NBA champion Boston Celtics and 2019–20 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers |
| Nate Sestina | | Israeli Basketball Premier League player |
| Jeff Sheppard | 1993–1998 | 1998 NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player |
| Valerie Still | 1979–1983 | Leading scorer in UK basketball history, male or female; played professionally in Europe and the ABL before briefly playing for the Washington Mystics in the WNBA; younger sister of UK football great Art Still |
| Marquis Teague | 2011–2012 | Former NBA player |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 2014–2015 | 1st pick of the 2015 NBA draft; current player for the Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Wayne Turner | 1995–1999 | ANBL New Zealand Breakers player; ended his UK career as the all-time NCAA leader in games played (record since surpassed) |
| Tyler Ulis | 2014–2016 | NBA player |
| Frank Vogel | BS 1998 | Former head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers |
| Antoine Walker | 1994–1996 | Former NBA player; member of the 2005–06 NBA champion Miami Heat |
| Kenny Walker | 1982–1986 | 1985–1986 All-American and 5th pick in the 1986 NBA draft |
| John Wall | 2009–2010 | 1st pick of the 2010 NBA draft; current player for the Houston Rockets |
| Bobby Watson | | Former NBA player |
| Derek Willis | 2013–2017 | Former NBA player |
| Sean Woods | 1988–1992 | Former head coach at Morehead State University |
| James Young | | NBA player; 2019–2020 top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League |

#### Notes

* For players who enrolled from 1954 through 1971, their actual playing career did not start until a year after they first attended. At that time, freshmen were ineligible to play at varsity level.
* ↑ Did not play until 1995
* ↑ Did not play in the 1981–82 or 1982–83 seasons due to injury
* ↑ Did not play until 1991, as he had to sit out the 1990–91 season after transferring from Missouri
* ↑ Although Kanter enrolled at Kentucky, he never played because he was declared ineligible by the NCAA due to financial benefits he had received from his former Turkish club team of Fenerbahçe Ülker.
* ↑ Did not play until 1977, as he had to sit out the 1976–77 season after transferring from Purdue
* ↑ Did not play in the 1992–93 season for academic reasons
* ↑ Did not play in 1995–96 or the first half of the 1996–97 season for academic reasons
* ↑ Did not play until 1994, as he had to sit out the 1993–94 season after transferring from Washington
* ↑ Did not play in the 1996–97 season due to injury
* Willie Cauley-Stein (born 1993), NBA basketball player
* Sacha Killeya-Jones (born 1998), American-British basketball player for Hapoel Gilboa Galil of the Israeli Basketball Premier League

### Football

| Name | Years attended | Notable for |
| Derek Abney | | NFL, former Chicago Bears wide receiver |
| Josh Hines-Allen | 2015–2018 | Current outside linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars |
| George Blanda | | American Football League MVP, 1961, two-time AFL champ, and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| Shane Boyd | | Former Arizona Cardinals quarterback |
| Chuck Bradley | | Gridiron football offensive tackle |
| Neal Brown | | Former offensive coordinator at Troy University, Texas Tech, and UK; current head coach at Troy |
| Vincent "Sweet Pea" Burns | | Former NFL Indianapolis Colts defensive end |
| Jerry Claiborne | 1946–1950 | Former head football coach |
| Randall Cobb | 2008–2011 | Current wide receiver and return specialist with the Green Bay Packers; first person born in the 1990s to play in the NFL |
| Tim Couch | 1996–1999 | Former Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback |
| Jamin Davis | 2017–2020 | Linebacker; drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft by the Washington Football Team |
| Dermontti Dawson | | Former NFL offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers; inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012 |
| David De La Peralle | | Former CFL offensive lineman |
| Mark Higgs | | Former NFL running back |
| Glenn Holt | | NFL Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver |
| Christian Johnson | | Arena Football League player |
| Cory "Poop" Johnson | 2014–2016 | Former NFL and current CFL defensive lineman |
| Dennis Johnson | | Former San Francisco 49ers defensive end; currently with the Lexington Horsemen |
| Don King | | Former NFL defensive tackle |
| Kelly Kirchbaum | | Professional football player |
| Jared Lorenzen | | Former New York Giants quarterback |
| Ricky Lumpkin | | NFL player |
| Tim Masthay | | Former punter for the Green Bay Packers; Super Bowl XLV Champion |
| Marlon McCree | | Former San Diego Chargers, current Denver Broncos safety |
| Rick Nuzum | | Former NFL center |
| Babe Parilli | | Three-time American Football League all-star and 1968 Super Bowl champ |
| Joker Phillips | 1981–1985 | Former wide receiver for the Washington Redskins and the CFL's Toronto Argonauts; former UK head coach |
| Artose Pinner | | Former Minnesota Vikings running back |
| Derrick Ramsey | 1974–1978 | Former tight end for three NFL teams; athletic director at Coppin State University, 2008–2015; Kentucky Secretary of Labor, 2015–present |
| Dewayne Robertson | | Former New York Jets, former Denver Broncos defensive tackle |
| Howard Schnellenberger | | Retired football coach, most recently with Florida Atlantic; former head coach of the NFL's Baltimore Colts, and of Miami, Louisville, and Oklahoma in the college ranks |
| Art Still | | Former Kansas City Chiefs player and 4-time Pro Bowler; older brother of Valerie Still (see basketball alumni) |
| Jeff Van Note | | Former Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman and 6-time Pro Bowler |
| Moe Williams | | Former Minnesota Vikings running back |
| Ken Willis | | Former Dallas Cowboys kicker |
| Earl Wilson | | NFL and CFL player |
| Craig Yeast | 1995–1998 | Former Cincinnati Bengals receiver |

### Baseball

| Name | Years attended | Notable for |
| Bill Black | BA 1942 | Player-coach for the Wildcats |
| Joe Blanton | | Former Major League Baseball pitcher; member of the 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies, winner of Game 4 of the 2008 World Series |
| Derek Bryant | 1971–1973 | Outfielder for the Oakland Athletics |
| Collin Cowgill | | Former Major League Baseball outfielder, 2011–2016 |
| Greg Gibson | | Major League Baseball umpire |
| Trevor Gott | 2011–2013 | Pitcher for the Seattle Mariners, and formerly the Los Angeles Angels, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, and Milwaukee Brewers |
| Andy Green | | Former Major League Baseball player with the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks, and manager of the San Diego Padres |
| Jason Kipnis | | Second baseman for the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs |
| Jim Leyritz | | Former Major League Baseball player, most notably for the New York Yankees |
| Luke Maile | | Catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, and formerly the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays |
| Randy Marsh | | Former Major League Baseball umpire |
| A. J. Reed | 2011–2014 | Minor League Baseball player in the Houston Astros organization; consensus NCAA Division I player of the year in 2014 |
| Mark Thompson | | Former Major League Baseball pitcher |
| Brandon Webb | | Former Major League Baseball pitcher, 2006 National League Cy Young Award winner |

### Other

* Simidele Adeagbo, Olympic athlete
* J. Elliott Burch, horse trainer
* Russ Cochran, golfer on the PGA Champions Tour
* Michael D'Agostino, soccer midfielder
* Steve Flesch, golfer on the PGA Tour
* Larry Glover, sports radio announcer
* Andy Gruenebaum (born 1982), MLS goalkeeper
* Jenny Hansen, 13-time All-American gymnast
* J. B. Holmes, golfer on the PGA Tour
* Kelli Hubly, NWSL defender 2017–present (currently with Portland Thorns FC)
* Andy Jackson, former tennis coach for Mississippi State and the University of Florida
* Josh Mulvany, English soccer midfielder
* Chase Parker, golfer
* Barry Rice, soccer defender
* Mary Tucker, Olympic sports shooter, world champion in 10 meter air rifle

## Notable faculty

| Name | Joined | Left/retired | Position |
| Robert A. Baker | 1969 | 1988 | Professor Emeritus of Psychology |
| Mark Berger | 1981 | 2003 | Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and William B. Sturgill Professor of Economics |
| Lois Mai Chan | 1970 | 2011 | Professor of Library Sciences |
| John Sherman Cooper | 1935 | 1946 | Member of the Board of Trustees |
| Guy Davenport | 1963 | 1990 | Professor of English |
| Lewis L. Walker | 1908 | 1915 | Member of the Board of Trustees |
| Benjamin Warf | 1992 | 2000 | Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Director of Surgical Education |