Update on Kentucky's 2026 basketball recruiting efforts

Mark Pope and the Kentucky staff have casted a very wide net in the 2026 class, involved with nearly a dozen of the top 15 recruits in the class. As a handful of Kentucky targets begin to take their fall visits, it's time to take a look at where things stand with some of the program's top targets in the class.

This fall, Kentucky will be hosting a slew of prospects for official visits, including Maxi Adams (Sept. 5-7), Caleb Holt (Sept. 12-14), Cole Cloer (Sept. 17-18), Anthony Thompson (Sept. 24), Cam Williams (Sept. 26), Christian Collins (Oct. 3-5), Deron Rippey Jr. (Oct. 3-5), Josh Iirving (Oct. 10-12) and Jordan Smith (Oct. 12). Let's take a look at where things stand with Kentucky and a handful of their top targets.

Tyran Stokes - #1 overall

Kentucky has been receiving a large amount of buzz with Stokes as of late, jumping in-state rival Louisville as the current frontrunner for the consensus #1 overall prospect in the class. At this point, Kentucky continues to separate themselves in this recruitment, but Louisville, Stokes' hometown, could make a surge before a decision likely comes before his high school season begins. The 6-7 forward has already visited presumed frontrunners Kentucky, Louisville, and Kansas. Stokes has visits scheduled to Gonzaga, Oregon and USC, which should all be completed before his high school season begins. Ever since Peach Jam, Kentucky has continued to gain serious momentum with Stokes.

Christian Collins - #4 overall

Collins recruitment began to take off in the spring, and now tons of high-profile schools are involved, with Kentucky right in the thick of things as one of the early frontrunners. The top 5 prospect has a close connection with Kentucky assistant Jason Hart, who is from the same area, so that will be something to watch as far as Kentucky as his recruitment goes on. As of right now, the 6-8 forward has just two visits scheduled, to USC on Aug. 30 and Oregon on Sept. 6. Collins' mother, in a recent interview with Kentucky Wildcats on SI's Wyatt Huff, said Kentucky is one of the schools reaching out the most, also saying that the family's connection with Hart is worth taking into consideration when it comes to a decision. Kentucky is certainly one of the top early contenders with Collins.

Caleb Holt - #6 overall

Kentucky is looking like one of the top contenders for Holt, one of the top overall players in the class. In-state schools Alabama and Auburn are currently seen as the early frontrunners, with Kentucky seeming to be lurking very close behind. Holt is actually about to begin his visit to Arkansas this weekend as well as Kentucky in a few weeks, before taking trips to both Alabama and Auburn soon after. The five-star guard's father recently spoke with Kentucky Wildcats on SI, where he said there's real geniune interest between them and the Kentucky staff. "There's a real genuine interest from our perspective as well, and we sense that from them and they've convinced us of that." The interest could play big for the Wildcats once he steps on campus. These next few weeks will be big as Holt begins taking visits.

Tay Kinney - #12 overall

Kentucky has seemed to have slipped recently as far as it goes with Kinney and his recruitment, with Louisville gaining a lot of momentum. The Cardinals have seemed to have separated the gap between the two schools, but Kentucky still has some time to make up ground if they really want to. Given their position with Rippey, the Wildcats could just start to shift their focus more towards him. Kinney has already taken visits to both Kentucky and Louisville. He has upcoming visits set to Indiana, Miami, Oregon, Texas and Arkansas. Kinney just recently released his top 8 schools, which included Kentucky, Louisville, Arkansas, Indiana, Miami, Texas, Kansas and Oregon.

Deron Rippey Jr. - #18 overall

Kentucky has been in a very good position with Rippey Jr., who they have really, really turned up the heat with as of late. The staff has been involved with the five-star point guard since the summer of 2024, but the pressure has really taken off since this past spring. Rippey Jr. just recently completed his official visit to Miami, with others scheduled in the near future, including Kentucky. The 6-2 guard has visits scheduled to North Carolina (Aug. 31), Alabama (Sept. 13), Texas (Sept. 19), Syracuse (Sept. 26), Kentucky (Oct. 3), Indiana (Oct. 17), Duke (Oct. 21), Tennessee (Oct. 25), Kansas (Nov. 2) and NC State (Nov. 7). His recruitment will have plenty of twists as he begins his long visit schedule, but the Wildcats are certainly the, if not one of, the top contenders with the five-star guard, who they clearly have a lot of interest in.

As many of Kentucky's 2026 targets begin taking their fall visits, recruitments will be interesting to follow as they get to know each school a lot more. It's going to be a fun ride with how many top recruits Kentucky is involved in.