Senior tight end for Kentucky. 2023: 4 catches, 89 receiving yards.
6′5″ · 251 lb · Cincinnati, OH
Recruiting
TE recruit
No. 588 nationally · Signed with Kentucky
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
5 tight end for Kentucky. 2023: 4 catches, 89 receiving yards.
Brenden Bates
Shows up in the passing game from any alignment. He has spent five seasons in the Kentucky receiving corps. The receipt: 33 rec yds, 1 receptions against Alabama — Week 11, 2023.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Five seasons at Kentucky, 272 receiving yards — his college career is complete.
His career
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2018–2023
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Mark Stoops.
Season context · Team result + system
5 seasons under Mark Stoops — 39-24 over that span.
Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort
Box-score percentiles
Elite: yards / catch (99th percentile). Concern: receptions (0th percentile).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 4 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 1.0 | 31.5 | 31.5 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 1.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-72g | 1.0 | 23.0 | 23.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 1.0 | 21.5 | 21.5 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Will Stein
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2023
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 4 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 44-14vs Ball State | 1 | 30 | 30.0 | 0 | 30 | |
| Wk 4 | W 45-28@ Vanderbilt | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 11 | L 21-49vs Alabama | 1 | 33 | 33.0 | 0 | 33 | Season-high 33 yds |
| Wk 13 | W 38-31@ Louisville | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 10 | |
| Total | 4 | 89 | 22.2 | 0 | 33 |
Play style
No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.
His 2022 production profile sits closest to Brandon Crum’s 2020 season.
Matches Brandon on
Differs from Brandon on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Lawson Albright's senior season at Northwestern (2025).
Matches Lawson on
Differs from Lawson on
Player DNA