** The dead period has arrived and that means June official visits are in the books. The players who have not yet decided by now, from the 2026 class, will be either announcing soon or putting recruiting on pause for fall visits and a longer recruitment. Because Kentucky got a late start with the 2026 class you really would want to see them hit on at least a couple more guys in the near future to feel like you don't have a mountain of work to do filling out the class during the season. But they have definitely gotten the ball rolling a bit.
** Kentucky appears to be in the best position for 4-star OG Tyreek Jemison. He said UK's coaches did a better job than any other staff of making him feel like a priority but also digging deep and really explaninig why that's the case in a way that makes sense to him. He said he "got that feeling" in Lexington. Would be a great guard prospect to add to the roster. One person told me a while ago it could just come down to whether he wants to be in Atlanta or not, but I can say that right now, optimism is high. Behind the scenes he has always been very high on Kentucky.
** The word now is Kentucky and Oregon may have the best shot at Matt Ponatoski. Sounds like the baseball angle is helping Kentucky more so, while the football side at Oregon has him intrigued. I get the sense that Ponatoski is legitimately really excited to play college football but also knows that baseball is a great long term investment for him. Given the dynamics of the recruitment I feel like Kentucky is in a good spot given proximity and the fact that, fresh off Oregon, the talk isn't all about the Ducks but still includes Kentucky in a serious way. It does seem like Alabama and Arkansas could be lagging based on recent chatter. Steve Wiltfong recently reported that he could be closing in on a decision by the end of the week so that would be huge.
** If UK could get Jemison and Ponatoski on board by the end of the week then you'd really be going a long way toward checking boxes at several positions: QB, OL, WR, DB.
** Multiple sources are relaying good things about Kentucky's chances with speedy WR Dallas Dickerson. If they can seal that and get him to announce then that would be a significant addition on offense. This one is far enough along that I'm putting a FutureCast in with pretty high confidence.
** Hearing good things about how the visit went for N.C. cornerback Kosci Barnes, who has also taken official visits to Rutgers, South Carolina, Miami, and Mississippi State. Nobody has told me that Kentucky is getting Barnes but have heard they were in a relatively strong position going into the visit. If they can land Barnes the secondary class would really be coming together.
** Caught up with 2027 athlete Ja'Hyde Brown following his offers from Alabama, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. The big thing for Kentucky's chances will be the recruiting approach post-Marrow. Still waiting to find out who is going to be handling most of those Chris Vaughn guys. His growth spurt to 5'10 coupled with his 4.48/40 have helped his status a lot. Camped at Clemson and Alabama this summer. Does have an openness to Kentucky but UofL will be in there as well.
** Jack Fuchs apparently had a good visit to Penn State, from what I've heard. Folks think UK is in good shape. The one variable is I have not heard what the confidence level is on the Penn State side. The couple of people I've spoken with who have some info here seem to think it's going to be close but very much worth watching over the next 24 hours because a decision could come very soon.
** One big update: There is optimism on Da'Ron Parks. Months ago I wasn't sure if the NIL situation would be strong enough for an out of state HS player like him but it seems like they are very much in the mix. One person told me they believe Kentucky would be the choice if he were deciding today. I think the relationships that matter are strongest at Kentucky but also hearing he might not be ready to announce a decision until August. The two schools I've heard mentioned the most other than Kentucky are Ohio State and Florida State with maybe Auburn being in it, too.
** Kentucky appears to be in the best position for 4-star OG Tyreek Jemison. He said UK's coaches did a better job than any other staff of making him feel like a priority but also digging deep and really explaninig why that's the case in a way that makes sense to him. He said he "got that feeling" in Lexington. Would be a great guard prospect to add to the roster. One person told me a while ago it could just come down to whether he wants to be in Atlanta or not, but I can say that right now, optimism is high. Behind the scenes he has always been very high on Kentucky.
** The word now is Kentucky and Oregon may have the best shot at Matt Ponatoski. Sounds like the baseball angle is helping Kentucky more so, while the football side at Oregon has him intrigued. I get the sense that Ponatoski is legitimately really excited to play college football but also knows that baseball is a great long term investment for him. Given the dynamics of the recruitment I feel like Kentucky is in a good spot given proximity and the fact that, fresh off Oregon, the talk isn't all about the Ducks but still includes Kentucky in a serious way. It does seem like Alabama and Arkansas could be lagging based on recent chatter. Steve Wiltfong recently reported that he could be closing in on a decision by the end of the week so that would be huge.
** If UK could get Jemison and Ponatoski on board by the end of the week then you'd really be going a long way toward checking boxes at several positions: QB, OL, WR, DB.
** Multiple sources are relaying good things about Kentucky's chances with speedy WR Dallas Dickerson. If they can seal that and get him to announce then that would be a significant addition on offense. This one is far enough along that I'm putting a FutureCast in with pretty high confidence.
** Hearing good things about how the visit went for N.C. cornerback Kosci Barnes, who has also taken official visits to Rutgers, South Carolina, Miami, and Mississippi State. Nobody has told me that Kentucky is getting Barnes but have heard they were in a relatively strong position going into the visit. If they can land Barnes the secondary class would really be coming together.
** Caught up with 2027 athlete Ja'Hyde Brown following his offers from Alabama, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. The big thing for Kentucky's chances will be the recruiting approach post-Marrow. Still waiting to find out who is going to be handling most of those Chris Vaughn guys. His growth spurt to 5'10 coupled with his 4.48/40 have helped his status a lot. Camped at Clemson and Alabama this summer. Does have an openness to Kentucky but UofL will be in there as well.
** Jack Fuchs apparently had a good visit to Penn State, from what I've heard. Folks think UK is in good shape. The one variable is I have not heard what the confidence level is on the Penn State side. The couple of people I've spoken with who have some info here seem to think it's going to be close but very much worth watching over the next 24 hours because a decision could come very soon.
** One big update: There is optimism on Da'Ron Parks. Months ago I wasn't sure if the NIL situation would be strong enough for an out of state HS player like him but it seems like they are very much in the mix. One person told me they believe Kentucky would be the choice if he were deciding today. I think the relationships that matter are strongest at Kentucky but also hearing he might not be ready to announce a decision until August. The two schools I've heard mentioned the most other than Kentucky are Ohio State and Florida State with maybe Auburn being in it, too.
