BB Recruiting

Multiple Five-Star Recruits Schedule Visits to Kentucky

Published

3 years ago

August 16, 2023

Top Ranked Recruits Darius Acuff, Boogie Fland, Billy Richmond, and Caleb Wilson have scheduled visits to Kentucky.

Yahoo Sports (Acuff)/The Black Cager (Richmond)/Pangos All America (Fland)

Now that the Grassroots AAU season is over, recruits from across the country are scheduling visits. Kentucky has picked up some scheduled visits for the fall, with a couple of Big Blue Madness visits already in order.

Boogie Fland

The top guard in 2024, Fland is now starting to set up his visits, as he has really taken his recruitment slow. He will take a visit to Kentucky on September 8th, while also taking visits to Michigan, Alabama, and UNC later in September, he told On3’s Joe Tipton.

He’s taking his recruitment slow, so there’s not much movement with momentum, but recent intel suggests Alabama, UConn, and Michigan seem to be the presumed leaders currently. Kentucky is making a strong push, so keep in mind he still has visits to take.

Top-10 recruit Boogie Fland showing his burst, pace, handle and shot-making prowess in drills at Nike Academy. pic.twitter.com/NlCGhmxba2— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) August 11, 2023

Caleb Wilson

A Top-5 player in 2025, Wilson is really into the Blue Bloods, with Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina all heavily involved. He will be taking a visit to Kentucky for Big Blue Madness on October 14th, he told Travis Graf of MADE Hoops.

Wilson is starting to ramp up his recruitment, with scheduling additional visits to Tennessee and Alabama as well in the near future.

Get familiar with the game of Caleb Wilson, a power forward who is one of Kentucky basketball’s top recruiting targets in the class of 2025. https://t.co/8O7nRaXu88— Lexington Herald-Leader (@heraldleader) August 11, 2023

Billy Richmond

Richmond is a Top-35 player in the class of 2025, and recently released his Top-8 schools, while also scheduling a handful of upcoming visits, and he will take on to Kentucky on September 15th.

He will also be visiting Memphis, LSU, Kansas, and Alabama in the near future. His Top-8 schools list includes Kentucky, Memphis, Louisville, Alabama, Kansas, LSU, Miami, and Texas.

Kentucky seems to be the favorite in this recruitment, with Memphis and Louisville lurking behind.

NEWS: Billy Richmond, 2024’s No. 32 overall prospect, is down to eight schools, he tells me.

The 6-6 wing has scheduled five official visits: https://t.co/j1aZQvafkP pic.twitter.com/tDmpxcjBxQ— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) August 12, 2023

Darius Acuff

One of the biggest stock-risers in 2025, Acuff is the top-ranked point guard in the class, and now is beginning to set up visits. He will take a visit to Kentucky on October 14th for Big Blue Madness.

No other visits have been set up yet besides one to Michigan in the near future, but back in July at Peach Jam, Acuff told KY Insider that Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Houston, and Pitt, among others, were schools he is looking to visit in the fall.

Kentucky, Indiana, Houston, Michigan, and Michigan State are among those recruiting him the hardest, he told KY Insider in July at Peach Jam.

2025’s No. 1 ranked PG, Darius Acuff, tells me he will take an official visit to Kentucky on October 14th for Big Blue Madness.

The Detroit native is planning to schedule a visit to Michigan.

Recently announced he would be transferring to IMG Academy for the upcoming season.… pic.twitter.com/ooJQDOBOa7— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) August 14, 2023

Fall visits are starting to be scheduled for the near future among many of the top recruits in the country, and Kentucky is beginning to get some of those, and plenty more will be scheduled soon.

BB Recruiting

Kentucky Basketball Receives Prediction to Land International Star Nikola Kusturica

Published

2 days ago

June 17, 2026

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky basketball has taken over as the favorite for Serbian star Nikola Kusturica, a projected lottery pick in 2028, with a prediction backing the Wildcats.

Just when many believed Kentucky’s roster was complete in terms of contributing players, Mark Pope might have an ace up his sleeve.

Last week, it was reported that Kentucky was among the frontrunners to land 6-foot-8 Serbian wing Nikola Kusturica. At the time, Gonzaga was thought to be the team to beat, having a more defined role to offer, compared to Kentucky, who has one remaining roster spot and a good amount of depth in wing positions.

Since then, things have shifted in a big way.

Gonzaga received a commitment from 18-year-old French guard Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa on Sunday. By Tuesday night, the Wildcats received a Crystal Ball prediction from 247Sports’ Travis Branham to land Kusturica, with a confidence level of 7 out of 10.

The 6-foot-8 wing currently plays for FC Barcelona in Spain’s Liga ACB and EuroLeague system. He just turned 17 years old and is reportedly seeking a two-year college opportunity before becoming draft-eligible in 2028, where he is already being projected as a lottery pick.

The on-court résumé speaks for itself. In the 2025 FIBA U16 EuroBasket, he averaged 20 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game while leading Serbia to a championship and was named tournament MVP. He also helped Barcelona capture the Adidas NextGen Finals championship last month, posting 20 points and 10 rebounds in the title game against Real Madrid.

Next, Kusturica will represent Serbia in the FIBA U17 World Cup from June 27 to July 5, and a college decision could come before then.

Mark Pope is carrying a lot of momentum in recent weeks after retaining Malachi Moreno and adding Milan Momcilovic to this season’s roster, as well as landing the first top 10 prospect of his career in Ryan Hampton. If he can close on Kusturica, that would cap off the roster in a significant way and continue to change the narrative around his recruiting ability.

BB Recruiting

Kentucky Earns Commitment From No. 6 Prospect in 2027 Class Ryan Hampton

Published

2 weeks ago

June 7, 2026

Kai McClelland

Photo via UK Athletics

How about a Sunday boom in the recruiting world for you BBN?

Ryan Hampton, the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2027 class, has officially committed to the University of Kentucky! This is Mark Pope’s first top-10 prospect that he’s earned a commitment from.

Hailing from Rockwall, Texas, Hampton recently took an official visit to campus with his family, which began on Friday, June 5 and spilled into Sunday, June 7, his commitment day.

The five-star wing averaged 21.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game during the most recent EYBL Circuit, playing for LivOn and Nightrydas.

Hampton was the first recruit in the 2027 to officially visit with the Wildcats, and now he’s the first to call their shot early and choose the blue and white.

Pope has signed Milan Momcilovic, the No. 2 ranked transfer, and Hampton, his first top-10 high school prospect just in the past week.

It’s been a crazy week for recruiting, with the narrative around Pope’s ability slowing fading as the top guys continue to be attracted to the Kentucky brand.

BB Recruiting

Fast Riser Big Man Yann Kamagate Receives Scholarship Offer From Kentucky

Published

1 month ago

May 18, 2026

Tristan Pharis

Fresh off the first live recruiting period of the offseason, Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have extended their first scholarship offer of the 2028 class.

Yann Kamagate, a prospect who went from unranked to the top five in 247Sports’ most recent recruiting rankings, received an offer from the Wildcats, he confirmed to KY Insider on Monday.

“Not everyone gets the chance to be seen by greatness,” Kamagate told KY Insider. “I’m grateful for the offer from Kentucky.”

Kentucky assistant coach Mikhail McLean, who works with the Wildcats’ big men and their development, watched Kamagate first-hand this past weekend in the Adidas 3SSB circuit in Mishawaka, Indiana.

The 7-foot big man was the talk of the weekend, displaying a high motor, extreme athleticism — a reported 7-9 winspam — and great feel for the game. On the circuit, he is averaging 13.9 points, a circuit-leading 10.4 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game.

Originally from the West African country of Burkina Faso, Kamagate moved to the United States just a year ago and has only been playing basketball for three years. Now, he is challenging for the top spot in the 2028 class.

He is currently represented by former NBA player and UCLA star Luc Mbah a Moute. Which is relevant as he is currently playing for the California Adidas team, Compton Magic, and attends La Cañada Flintridge (Calif.) St. Francis.

The offer is the latest signal that Mark Pope’s staff is casting a wide and aggressive net this offseason, and targeting players whose trajectories are trending sharply upward. Kamagate fits that profile exactly.