Tag: kentucky basketball recruiting

Kentucky is getting a visit from a four-star 2026 recruit

Class of 2026 recruit Anthony Thompson will be visiting Kentucky basketball.

As the calendar changes from 2024 to 2025, Mark Pope and his staff are working hard on recruiting for both the 2025 and 2026 classes. To the latter, Kentucky basketball is getting a visit from Anthony Thompson from the ’26 class.

Thompson is a 6’7″, 185 lb forward out of Ohio. He’s currently rated five stars by 247sports, and is ranked as the number nine overall player in the class. He’s the number three small forward in the class.

Related: Early look at the potential 2025 Kentucky basketball roster

The top ten recruit visited Lexington back in October, but is coming back. Thompson told Kentucky Sports Radio that he will be in Lexington on Saturday for Kentucky’s game against the Florida Gators. He already has an offer from Pope and the Wildcats as well.

A decision from Thompson isn’t imminent, but Kentucky seems to be making positive impressions. That’s important if they want to get a commitment when he gets to that point. He’s a very talented player and would be a great addition to the 2026 class.

A Kentucky basketball recruiting target has committed to Louisville

Former Kentucky basketball target Mikel Brown Jr. has committed to Louisville.

Mark Pope and Kentucky basketball have already put together a very good 2025 recruiting class, and are looking to add more. One player they won’t be adding, though, is point guard Mikel Brown Jr., who has committed to Louisville.

Kentucky offered Brown on June 13, ironically the same day that Louisville did. They visited him as late as September, but ultimately signed Acaden Lewis, which likely signaled the end of the Wildcats’ pursuit.

Related: SEC basketball power rankings on New Year’s Day

Brown is a 6’3″, 170 lb point guard out of Florida. He is rated five stars by 247sports and is ranked as the number seven overall player in the class. He’s the number two point guard.

It’s a very good signing for the Cardinals, and Kentucky will see him once a year in their annual rivalry game. It will be interesting to see how things play out when the two point guard recruits play against each other.

Caleb Wilson is down to five schools, including Kentucky

Kentucky basketball is in the final five for 2025 forward Caleb Wilson.

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope has done a very nice job so far in recruiting for the 2025 class. He landed Malachi Moreno early on, followed by Jasper Johnson. More recently he added point guard Acaden Lewis to the group. He’d love to add forward Caleb Wilson to the list as well.

Earlier this week, Wilson narrowed his choices down to five schools, per On3’s Joe Tipton, and Kentucky was among the five. North Carolina, Ohio State, Central Florida, and the Tennessee Volunteers are the other four.

Related: Five things we learned from the win over Lipscomb

Wilson is a 6’9″, 205 lb forward out of Georgia. He is currently ranked as the number eight overall player in the 2025 class by 247 sports, and he’s rated five stars.

Pope has heavily recruited Wilson, and would love to add him to an already very good class. Many people think the Wildcats are the favorite, especially after Lewis committed. Time will tell, and Wilson is expected to make a decision in December or January. Fans will stay tuned until then.

A big Kentucky recruiting target cancels his visit with an SEC rival

Kentucky recruiting target Caleb Wilson canceled a visit with Arkansas on Thursday.

When Kentucky basketball recently earned a commitment from guard Acaden Lewis, many thought the forward Caleb Wilson would follow. A decision hasn’t been made yet, but the Wildcats may have gotten a bit of good news on that front.

Wilson was scheduled to take a visit with John Calipari and Arkansas this weekend. However, on Thursday, 247sports analyst Travis Branham posted that the visit would no longer take place, and won’t be rescheduled.

Related: Five things learned in the win over Duke

Some will certainly take that as a positive for Kentucky. It could be a sign that he’s close to choosing the Wildcats. However, it’s important to note that it could be related to something completely different. It’s also noteworthy that Wilson was in attendance for Kentucky’s big win over the Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday.

Wilson is a 6’9″ forward out of Georgia. He is currently ranked as the number eight overall player by 247sports, and is rated five stars. He has offers from teams like the Auburn Tigers, Tennessee Volunteers, and North Carolina Tarheels as well.

Four-star point guard Acaden Lewis commits to Kentucky basketball

Class of 2025 point guard Acaden Lewis commits to Kentucky and Mark Pope.

Another piece of the puzzle has fallen into place for coach Mark Pope and Kentucky basketball. After heavily recruiting point guard Acaden Lewis, he joins Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson as commits to the Wildcats for 2025. The announcement was streamed by On3.

The final three schools were Kentucky, Connecticut and the Duke Blue Devils. He made his announcement on Saturday afternoon, choosing Pope and the Wildcats. Experts had predicted the choice for several weeks before he made it official.

Related: Amari Williams could miss start of season

Lewis is a 6’2″, 170 lb point guard out of Washington, D.C. He is rated four stars by 247sports and is ranked as the number 32 overall player in the 2025 class.

The commitment now gives Kentucky three players ranked in the top 40 of the 2025 class. Lewis, Moreno, and Johnson are a very nice trio heading into next year, and they hope to make it a foursome soon.

All eyes now shift to Caleb Wilson and Chris Cenac Jr. Pope would love to land one of the two, and it would certainly give him a top five group for his first recruiting class.

Kentucky basketball is getting a visit from a four-star forward

Kentucky basketball is set to receive a visit from 2025 forward Samis Calderon.

Mark Pope and Kentucky basketball are already working on a very good 2025 recruiting class. Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno are already on board, and they are the favorite to land guard Acaden Lewis as well.

Now, a new name has emerged on Kentucky’s radar. Forward Samis Calderon is set to visit the Wildcats, according to Kentucky Sports Radio. The visit is set for some time in November, according to the report.

Related: A Kentucky target is set to make a decision in November

Calderon is a 6’8″, 200 lb forward out of Georgia. He’s rated four stars by 247sports, and is ranked as the number 35 small forward in the 2025 recruiting class.

Offers from Kansas, the Tennessee Volunteers, and the Auburn Tigers have come in for Calderon already. He is also in the process of visiting those schools with Auburn up next. Kentucky hasn’t officially offered him yet, but it’s good for fans to see that Pope and his staff are still working on bringing in more talent.

A Kentucky basketball recruiting target is set to make a decision

Guard Acaden Lewis is set to decide if he’ll commit to Kentucky basketball on November 2nd.

The Kentucky basketball season doesn’t officially begin for more than a week, but they’re playing exhibition games, and are still on the recruiting trail. They have landed two top players in the 2025 class already in Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno. Soon, they’ll find out where Acaden Lewis will play.

Lewis told Kentucky Sports Radio that he will make his commitment announcement on November 2nd. His final three choices are Kentucky, Connecticut, and the Duke Blue Devils.

Related: Kentucky is 23rd in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Lewis is 6’2″, 170 lb point guard out of Washington DC. He is currently ranked as the number 32 overall player in the class by 247sports, and has a four-star rating.

Kentucky is the current favorite to land Lewis, but there are no sure things in recruiting. Fans are eager to hear his decision, though, and he would add to an already very good class for coach Mark Pope and his staff.

Kentucky is in the final three for a five-star guard in 2025

Kentucky women’s basketball makes the final three for 2025 recruit ZaKiyah Johnson.

There has been a lot of news recently concerning Mark Pope and the Kentucky men’s basketball team and their recruiting. However, the Kentucky women’s basketball team and coach Kenny Brooks got some good recruiting news on Tuesday.

Guard ZaKiyah Johnson named her final three schools, and Kentucky is on that list. The other schools are Louisville and the LSU Tigers. She is set to make her decision on November first, according to 247sports.

Related: Kentucky women’s basketball 22nd in AP Top 25

Johnson is a 6’0″ wing out of Kentucky. She is rated four stars by 247sports and is ranked as the number 12 player overall in the class of 2025. She’s number nine overall in their composite rankings.

Coach Brooks has done a terrific job so far in building a competitive roster for this season, and has several top recruits in his sights for next year. Keeping Johnson in the state of Kentucky would be a terrific get for the 2025 class.

Kentucky offers a 2026 top ten recruit at Big Blue Madness

Kentucky basketball has made an offer to class of 2026 forward Anthony Thompson.

The 2024 Big Blue Madness event for Kentucky basketball was memorable for a number of reasons, including a surprise visit from Rick Pitino. However, coach Mark Pope also used it to work on recruiting as well in the case of Anthony Thompson.

Thompson was one of two recruits to visit the Wildcats during Big Blue Madness, with the other being 2025 guard Acaden Lewis. Lewis is set to make his decision soon.

Meanwhile, Thompson received an offer from Pope and Kentucky while he was in Lexington, as reported by Kentucky Sports Radio.

Related: Kentucky coaches visit 2025 recruit Nate Ament

Thompson is a 6’7″, 185 lb small forward out of Ohio where he attends Western Reserve Academy. He currently has a five star rating and is the number nine overall player in the 2025 class, according to 247sports.

Pope and his staff have already made contact with several of the top members of the 2026 class. Thompson is certainly an elite talent, and Kentucky would love to have him. Making a good early impression helps, and getting him there for Big Blue Madness was a great start.

Kentucky gets two predictions to land a four-star 2025 point guard

Kentucky has gained predictions to land 2025 point guard Acaden Lewis.

New Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope has already made a splash in recruiting by landing two top 25 recruits in center Malachi Moreno and guard Jasper Johnson. Now, they’re predicted to gain a commitment from 2025 point guard Acaden Lewis as well.

Two of the insiders from 247sports have made official predictions for the Wildcats to get Lewis. Chris Fisher covers Kentucky for the site and logged his prediction on Friday.

The other writer to make the prediction is Adam Rowe. That is significant because he covers the Duke Blue Devils, who are also in the running for Lewis’ services.

Related: SEC projections for Kentucky basketball this season

On3’s Joe Tipton also weighed in with a prediction of Lewis to Kentucky, and added that they’re the current favorites for forward Caleb Wilson as well.

Lewis is currently the number 32 overall player in the 2025 class, according to 247sports. Pope and company have heavily recruited him, and would love to make him the third member of Pope’s first class.