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2024 Kentucky Commit Somto Cyril Comments on Potential Reclass to 2023

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UK Athletics

In June, Kentucky earned their first commitment of the 2024 class from big man Somto Cyril. However, prior to his commitment, he was long seen as a potential reclass candidate for the Wildcats.

With injuries to both of Kentucky’s big men, Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso, the roster could use some depth. With that said, is reclassification still an option? According to Cyril, he is leaving that door open.

On Wednesday, while playing for Team Overtime in The Basketball Tournament, he was asked by reporters if he still plans to arrive at Kentucky in 2024, rather than reclass. “As of now, yes,” Cyril said.

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He then talked about how much a second year at Overtime Elite would help him prepare for college. “I’ve gotten so much better since I’ve been at Overtime Elite, and I feel like one extra year could help me,” he told reporters. “I want to be at (UK) and help them any way I could, to win championships, just win games overall. So I feel like the more time I spend at OTE can help me be a better player.”

While Cyril could certainly improve with another season at Overtime Elite (OTE), the potential for improvement would be greater within a top-tier D-1 program like Kentucky if he were to reclass. Even if Bradshaw and Onyenso do return and stay healthy for the entire season, getting that experience within the program could be valuable for the 2024-25 season.

However, there is one potential roadblock. Despite graduating from OTE in the Spring, there are still “1-2 classes” that Cyril would need to complete to be academically eligible to reclass, reported by Jack Pilgrim of Kentucky Sports Radio.

With that said, Cyril is close enough that the hurdle shouldn’t be too much to overcome if John Calipari and the staff want to bring him in this season, which is something Calipari isn’t closing the door on either.

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Prior to GLOBL JAM, Calipari was asked about the potential of adding anyone else to the roster. To which he said, “Will we do anything else? I don’t believe so, but what if this happens and that happens? Maybe we would. It’s a little different environment.”

Whether Cyril joins in 2023 or 2024, Kentucky is getting a physically imposing player that can impact the game with his rebounding and defense.

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BB Recruiting

Kentucky Receives First Transfer Commitment From Top 25 Prospect, “Not Many People Get Opportunities Like This”

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Kentucky transfer Kam Williams prepares to shoot.

While all the attention is on Kentucky’s matchup with Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen, the transfer portal officially opened on Monday and the staff has been hard at work.

Already tossing a wide net, reaching out to nearly a dozen guys in the past few days, the Cats have reeled in their first commitment from Top 25 ranked (247Sports), four-star transfer Kam Williams from Tulane.

With a 6-8, 190-pound frame, Williams has good size. What caught the staff’s eye is his ELITE shooting ability, shooting better than 41 percent this past season and that includes 17 threes made beyond 25 feet. He excels best in catch-and-shoot situations, where he ranks in the 94th percentile.

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Williams received interest from many schools in addition to Kentucky, such as Florida, Louisville, and St. John’s among others. Why did Williams commit to Kentucky so quickly?

“Not many people get opportunities like this, so I wanted to pull the trigger fast,” Williams told ESPN. “More people are waiting to fill that spot, so I had to take advantage.”

“My dream is to play in the NBA. Kentucky’s culture and background shows that they care about their players, especially developing them into the best players they can be.”

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Kentucky Named a Finalist for Five Star, Top 5 NBA Prospect Nate Ament

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2025 top five prospect Nate Ament on his visit to Kentucky.
UK Athletics

Mark Pope has received three top-35 commitments in his first high school recruiting class, including two high 4-star commits in Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno.

However, his first top-10 prospect still eludes him after missing out on Caleb Wilson last month… at least for now.

Over the last few weeks, Pope and his staff have focused heavily on top-five prospect Nate Ament.

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Ament, the second-ranked power forward in the 2025 class, cut his list down to five schools earlier this week: Duke, Louisville, Tennessee, Arkansas, and the Kentucky Wildcats.

The 6-foot-9 prospect has visited each of them except Arkansas over the last five months, with a decision expected in the next month or so. Where does each program stand?

According to Joe Tipton of On3, Louisville and Duke have “positioned themselves” the best in this recruitment, giving Pat Kesley and the Cardinals a slight lead. However, there is still time, and one thing that could shake things up the most is NIL, reported to be one of Ament’s biggest priorities.

Elsewhere at On3, Jamie Shaw did his own update, where he said this could be down to a Kentucky vs. Louisville battle.

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“Speaking with sources at this point in time it does sound like there is a split room around Nate Ament with Duke, Louisville, and Kentucky. With the intel I am currently getting, I would not be surprised to see this ultimately come down to a Kentucky and Louisville battle,” Shaw wrote, later adding that a decision could come in the next few weeks.

Ament is fresh off a visit to Kentucky, where he saw Rupp Arena at its best as the Wildcats completed the season sweep of Tennessee. That being his most recent visit, along with Pope visiting for Ament’s Senior night, the hope is it made a lasting impact, but will it be enough?

Time will tell, but the Cats are a legitimate contender to land Ament.

Be sure to read Shaw’s update here.

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Also posted on A Sea of Blue.

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Kentucky Hosting Top Five Recruit Nate Ament

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Top five prospect Nate Ament will be visiting Kentucky in Rupp Arena as they take on Tennessee.
USA Basketball

After missing out on Caleb Wilson, Kentucky has shifted focus to its last remaining prospect, Nate Ament. The 6-foot-9 small forward prospect out of Warrenton, Virginia, is now the Wildcats’ last remaining prospect in the high school ranks for the 2025 class.

Ament has set up a visit to Kentucky, which was first reported by On3’s Joe Tipton. He will be in attendance when Tennessee travels to Rupp Arena on February 11th, with both the Wildcats and the Volunteers in the mix within the recruitment.

It is important to note that Kentucky is behind in this recruitment as they prioritized Caleb Wilson over Ament which did not pay off in the end. Ament has already visited Duke, Tennessee, Louisville, Texas, and Notre Dame. He is currently down to 11 schools including the Cats.

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Duke has been considered the longtime favorite in the recruitment but Mark Pope and company will have the chance to sell themselves before Ament decides to commit to another school.

Mark Pope even recruited Ament during his visit to Tennessee, where Kentucky pulled the upset on the road. As the team was celebrating coming off the floor, Pope passed Ament saying “Let’s go, Nate,” and “C’mon, Nate.”

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