Tag: Kentucky recruiting

Kentucky ranks Top 20 in new ESPN college football recruiting rankings

Here’s where Kentucky placed in ESPN’s updated 2025 college football recruiting rankings, released Tuesday.

ESPN updated its class of 2025 college football recruiting rankings this week.

Kentucky checked in at No. 20, two spots below their previous ranking earlier this month. Ohio State remained at No. 1 with eight SEC teams ranked ahead of the Wildcats, similar to ESPN’s previous rankings. Alabama stayed at No. 2 while LSU jumped Georgia to move to No. 3. The Bulldogs fell to No. 4.

Texas A&M and Oklahoma landed in the top 10 while Tennessee and Auburn cracked the top 15. Kentucky ranks three spots below Missouri and two spots below Texas in ESPN’s class of 2025 list.

Mark Stoops’ program has five players featured in the 2025 ESPN 300 Recruiting Database, led by running back Marquise Davis (Cleveland Heights High School, Ohio), the No. 117 overall player. Quarterback Stone Saunders (Bishop McDevitt, Harrisburg, Pa.) was the Wildcats’ second highest-rated offensive recruit at No. 283 overall.

Kentucky has three defensive recruits listed in the ESPN 300 list, led by defensive end Javeon Campbell (Western Highs High School, Frankfurt, Ky.) at No. 173 overall. Defensive end Cedric Works (Northmont Senior High School, Ohio) and safety Martels Carter Jr. (Paducah, Ky.) also made the ESPN 300 list. Works and Carter are ranked the No. 294 and No. 295 players in the ESPN 300 list overall.

Kentucky’s 2025 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 21 in the nation by both 247Sports and On3.

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Kentucky football has four Top247 recruits in new rankings

Four Kentucky commitments placed in 247Sports’ updated Top247 recruiting rankings.

Things are going pretty well for Kentucky football in recruiting these days.

Mark Stoops’ team currently has the No. 19 recruiting class in 247Sports’ class of 2025 rankings. The Wildcats have received four pledges from recruits graded as 4-star prospects and 10 pledges from players ranked as 3-star prospects.

On Wednesday, 247Sports released its updated recruiting rankings for the class of 2025. Four Kentucky commitments made the site’s Top247 rankings: EDGE Cedric Works, wide receiver Quintin Simmons Jr., safety Martels Carter Jr., and their latest commitment: defensive lineman Javeon Campbell.

Campbell was the top-rated recruit in the Bluegrass State and chose Kentucky over offers from Alabama, Auburn and Miami.

RELATED: Kentucky secures commitment from four-star EDGE Javeon Campbell

Works (Northmont High School; Clayton, Ohio) is the highest-rated recruit on 247Sports’ list at No. 86 nationally. He’s ranked as the No. 11 overall edge rusher in the class of 2025.

Campbell (Western Hills High School; Frankfurt, Ky.) follows Works as the Wildcats’ second highest-ranked recruit at No. 109 nationally, the No. 15 overall defensive lineman. Next up on the Top247 list is Simmons (No. 161 nationally, No. 16 receiver overall), followed by Carter (No. 223 nationally, No. 19 safety overall).

Simmons (Withrow High School, Cincinnati) committed to Kentucky in February while Carter (Paducah Tilghman High School) committed in May.

Follow us @UKWildcatsWire on X and on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Kentucky Wildcats news, notes and commentary.  

Four-star cornerback Dawayne Galloway has Kentucky in top 12

Four-star recruit Dawayne Galloway has Kentucky in his final twelve schools.

When it comes to recruiting, basketball might be king in Lexington, but fans certainly have an interest in Kentucky Wildcats football recruiting as well. The Cats got some good news on that front on Friday, as 2025 recruit Dawayne Galloway named Kentucky in his final 12 schools.

Galloway is a top 200 recruit for most services, and is rated at four stars. On3 has him as the 103rd ranked player. The cornerback from Columbus, Ohio would be a big-time addition to the Wildcats.

Kentucky was named by Galloway as one of 12 finalists, along with Oklahoma, Colorado, Georgia, Tennessee and Michigan among others. UK recruiting coordinator is a terrific recruiter, and he’s got his work cut out for him here.

The Wildcats have a top 25 recruiting class for 2024. They have been able to get a number of very good players into Lexington in recent years. They’ll look to continue the momentum into 2025, and landing Galloway would be a very good way to start.

Could Karter Knox be the next G League phenom? 5-star announces his top 4

Karter Knox, a 5-star small forward and brother of NBA player Kevin Knox, made a recruiting announcement regarding his top four schools.

Karter Knox, a five-star small forward ranked No. 11 on the 247Sports Composite and the brother of NBA player Kevin Knox Jr., has announced his top four schools.

The question boils down to this: Will he go the route of the Bluegrass State, with both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville among his final schools? Will he choose to return to the Sunshine State for the University of South Florida, where his brother Kobe Knox currently plays? Or will he be the latest five-star talent to choose the G League?

He posted a graphic to X announcing the schools in his top four:

The Courier-Journal reported that this recruiting has “been billed as a battle between U of L and UK from the jump.” Kevin Knox attended Kentucky, but Louisville head coach Kenny Payne coached him on the New York Knicks.

With that said, Knox played high school basketball in Florida and moved to Overtime Elite because Florida barred players from receiving Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) funding, according to SB Live. Perhaps he wants to return to Florida for college at USF — or maybe he sees a route to more money through the G League.

Regardless, the 6-foot-5, 205-pound forward told the Courier-Journal that he wants to be a one-and-done player.

“I want to be a pro,” he said. “That really plays a big part.”

Knox has 11 total offers and has taken official visits to Kentucky and Louisville, according to 247Sports. Prepping for his senior season, he is starting to wind down his commitment and near a decision.

LSU offers No. 1 point guard in Kentucky

Perry currently has a Crystal Ball projection to Kentucky but, Ole Miss is a 37% favorite to land him per On3.

[autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] and the LSU coaching staff made a trip to John Calapari’s backyard to try to take the No. 1 point guard out of the state of Kentucky.

[autotag]Travis Perry[/autotag] is a 6-foot-2, 170-pound, four-star point guard from Eddyville, Kentucky, where he plays for Lyon County High School. The Lyon County Lyons finished the 2022 season 31-6 with a loss to George Rogers Clark in the Sweet 16 of the KHSAA state playoffs.

Perry currently has a Crystal Ball projection to Kentucky but, Ole Miss is a 37% favorite to land him per On3.

LSU currently does not have any commits for the 2024 recruiting class.

Five-star PG Skyy Clark decommits from Kentucky

Skyy Clark, a five-star Montverde guard and longtime Kentucky commit, has decommitted from the Wildcats’ men’s basketball team.

Skyy Clark’s name has long been near the top of the 2022 class rankings, and he has been a target for powerhouses since high school began. He was the first in his class to commit to Kentucky back in October 2020 and signed a national letter of intent last November, making it clear that he would be a key for a future Wildcats March Madness pursuit.

That is no longer the case. On Sunday, Clark announced his decommitment, stating that he asked for a release from the program so he could reopen his recruitment.

In the statement, Clark wrote he will use the “next few weeks to regroup with my family to figure out what is the best move going forward.”

The five-star Montverde (Fla.) point guard, rated on the 247Sports Composite as the No. 27 player and fifth-best at his position, is one of only three of the top-50 players who is uncommitted.

Clark has switched high schools a couple times during his career. He played his first two seasons at Heritage Christian (Northridge, Calif.), where he asserted himself as a star in his sophomore year with averages of 25.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He then enrolled at Brentwood Academy (Nashville, Tenn.) before transferring to neighboring Ensworth High School before the school year began. He was unstoppable as a junior, increasing his averages to 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds and being one of five underclassmen named to the SI All-American Team. For his senior year, Clark transferred to Montverde.

After being seemingly set on Kentucky, he’s taking time to re-evaluate his options.

Despite losing Clark, Kentucky still has No. 7-ranked Chris Livingston and No. 8-ranked Carson Wallace in its class of 2022. Additionally, Shaedon Sharpe is enrolled and has yet to announce whether he’ll go straight to the NBA draft, for which he is eligible.

Five-star PG Skyy Clark returns from ACL tear in time for Hoophall

Six months after tearing his ACL, Skyy Clark made his season debut on Jan. 6. In Montverde’s first game of the 2022 Hoophall Classic, Clark had 11 points in the fist half.

Just six months after suffering a partially torn ACL and getting surgery,  Kentucky-bound Skyy Clark returned to the court.

On Jan. 6, the five-star guard stepped on the court for Montverde Academy (Fla.) for his first action since the Nike EYBL Peach Jam in July, where he suffered the injury on a non-contact play during practice.

In that debut days into 2022, Clark recorded three points, seven assists and four rebounds in 22 minutes of play. He has slowly continued to build himself up in game action since, playing three more games over the next week.

His fifth game of the season was Montverde’s debut in the 2022 Hoophall Classic on Saturday. Clark went off in the first half.

The guard scored 11 points, breaking his season-high tally in just one half of play. He did so efficiently, going 4-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3 in 14 minutes.

Clark played nine minutes in the second half and took just one shot in that time, finishing his game with 11 points, three rebounds, a pair of assists and four turnovers in Montverde’s 86-65 win over DeMatha Catholic.

As Clark works off the rust and gets his conditioning back to the level viewers are accustomed to, Kentucky will have its eye on the 6-foot-3 guard. Ranked as the 16th-best prospect in the 2022 class, Clark is part of a three-headed Wildcats class that also consists of No. 5-ranked player Chris Livingston and No. 6-ranked Cason Wallace.

If Clark returns to form in time — and it’s a remarkable feat in itself that he’s even back on the court this quickly after suffering the injury — Kentucky will once again be in excellent position to compete.

Montverde will get a day off before taking on IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) on Monday, the final day of Hoophall Classic. It will be broadcast on ESPNU.

What John Calipari is saying about his 2020 Kentucky basketball recruiting class

John Calipari talked about his 2020 Kentucky signing class, which includes Chosen 25 players Terrence Clark, BJ Boston and Devin Askew.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. – Depth is a problem for the current Kentucky basketball team. It should not be in a year.

John Calipari is set to end the early signing period with the No. 1-ranked 2020 recruiting class after signing six players, including four consensus top-30 prospects. While the 247Sports Composite has ranked Kentucky’s recruiting first or second in each year of the Calipari Era, the Hall of Fame coach has never signed that many prospects in the early period.

“I’m really excited about this group of young men,” Calipari said in a UK news release announcing the class. “They recruited us as much as we recruited them. They wanted this culture. They wanted to be with other good players. They didn’t need crazy promises. They wanted this. In the past, when we’ve had groups like that, it’s led to success both individually and as a team.

“When you’re building a great team, not only do you need to be talented, you need to have high-character individuals, which we have with this group. These are great kids from good families.”

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He is likely to add more to the class in the spring with at least a couple more high-profile frontcourt targets still in his sights. Several of the current Wildcats could return to school next year too, combining some veteran experience with the elite freshman talent.

Those decisions are still to come though. For now, we know these six players have signed onto the 2020-21 class. Here is what Calipari said about each in the UK news release announcing their signing.

Terrence Clark (No. 4 overall, No. 1 shooting guard)

“Terrence is one of the most talented basketball players in the country regardless of class. He has a toughness to him that the Big Blue Nation is going to really love. When he came on his visit, he saw firsthand the type of effort and work we expect of our players and immediately decided this was the type of environment he wanted to be in. Terrence has all the tools you look for in a kid: length, athleticism, toughness and a high basketball IQ. I’m looking forward to coaching him.”

Sierra Canyon Chatsworth, California) shooting guard Brandon Boston (Photo: Talha Rafique)

BJ Boston (No. 13 overall, No. 3 shooting guard)

“BJ is one of the best basketball players in the country. He can score from anywhere on the floor with his length and his athleticism and he finishes really well in traffic. He’s versatile enough to play two or three positions. On top of BJ’s basketball ability, what I love about him is he wants to play with other great players. He’s already doing that on the high school level and wanted the challenge of competing with and against the best every day in practice here.”

Devin Askew (No. 18 overall, No. 4 combo guard)

“Devin is a winner who other players want to play with. He has a team-first mentality and a maturity about him that you won’t find from many kids his age. He can make shots, he creates plays for himself and his teammates, and he is a willing defender with great size and length. Devin embraces the challenge of playing on this stage and has the makeup to be a special player.”

Isaiah Jackson (No. 26 overall, No. 3 power forward)

“Isaiah is without a doubt one of the best defenders in this class. You’re talking about an elite shot blocker who can guard one through five. Isaiah is acquiring the offensive skills needed to be an exceptional two-way player and I really like his ability to attack the rim in a lot of different ways. Isaiah is a high-character kid and a winner.”

See the rest of the class at the Courier Journal.