How the Rest of Kentucky Basketball's 2024 Recruiting Class Could Unfold

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Kentucky Basketball is entering the final stretch of the 2023-24 regular season, looking to position itself for SEC and NCAA Tournament runs. However, in a college basketball landscape where recruiting never stops, it’s always worth looking at what the future could hold.

It’s never too early to look ahead to next season’s incoming prospects. Kentucky currently has the No. 2-ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2024, according to On3. With five players already committed, UK still has a few more names on their board.

Kentucky is looking to bring in the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class for the second consecutive year; to do that, they’ll need to land some of their current targets. KSR+ takes a look at Kentucky’s current 2024 recruiting class, who could come next, and what players may reclassify from the 2025 class.

Who’s in the Fold?

Kentucky’s current 2024 recruiting class features five top-100 recruits, led by five-star center Jayden Quaintance. Quaintance, a 6-foot-10, 225-pound center from Word Of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, NC) is the No. 7 overall player in the On3 Industry Ranking and the highest-rated prospect in UK’s 2024 recruiting class.

“I’ve been working on my shot,” Quaintance told KSR+ in January. “I want to show that off so that I can play inside and out. I’m just trying to show the impact I can make on the game, how I can impact winning, and all the things I can do on the floor.”

Quaintance is one of two McDonald’s All-Americans in Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class. The other is four-star guard Boogie Fland. Fland, a 6-foot-2 point guard from Archbishop Stepinac (Harlem, NY) is the No. 18 overall player in the On3 Industry Ranking. He’s also rated as the nation’s top point guard.

“He’s a dynamic player at 6-foot-3,” Fland’s high school coach Patrick Massaroni told KSR+ in October. “He’s now playing above the rim, explosive, and a leader. That’s what he is.” 

The lone forward in Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class is four-star SF Billy Richmond from Camden (NJ). Richmond, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound prospect is the No. 22 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking and has plenty of ties to Kentucky.

Richmond played high school basketball with current UK players DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw. Additionally, Richmond’s father played under John Calipari at Memphis.

“[DJ and Aaron] just tell me how their experience is going and how practice is,” Richmond told KSR+ earlier this month. “They put in a lot of work down there after practice. I just take it in and prepare myself for next year.”

Then there’s the local kid: Travis Perry. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound point guard from Lyon County (Eddyville, KY) has done just about everything there is to do in high school basketball. He’s surpassed 5,000 career points, which is a record in the state of Kentucky. Perry also recently took home honors as the 2023 Kentucky Sports Figure of the Year.

Perry is ranked as the No. 85 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking. He is rated as the No. 1 overall player in the state of Kentucky.

“I’ve always been a guy that likes to win at the highest level and Kentucky basketball is the highest level there is,” Perry told KSR+ in late January. “To have the chance to go in there, compete, and win from day one is really intriguing.”

Closing out the class is Somto Cyril, a 6-foot-10 center from Overtime Elite (Atlanta, GA). Cyril is the No. 40 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking and the No. 6-ranked center.

“Somto [Cyril] is just an absolute monster,” said John Ortega, who is the head coach of the Overtime Elite-branded Diamond Doves, also known as Phhoenix Prep (AZ). “There’s no question in my mind that he’s the best big player in the country.”

Khaman Maluach, Karter Knox Top Remaining Targets in 2024

The last two players in the 2024 recruiting class to take official visits to Kentucky are five-star center Khaman Maluach and four-star forward Karter Knox. Both are expected to make college decisions soon.

Knox was the first to visit, taking in Kentucky’s Jan. 20 win over Georgia in a rowdy Rupp Arena environment. It was a good time to visit as he witnessed the debut of 7-foot-2 freshman Zvonimir Ivisic.

“Ah man, it was crazy,” Knox told KSR+ in January. “When Cal [John Calipari] went towards the bench and Big Z stood up, it was crazy. The whole Rupp Arena was loud. My ears were hurting. It was just a crazy experience.”

Maluach, a 7-foot-2 center from NBA Academy Africa, got his chance to visit one month later, attending Kentucky’s 75-63 win over Ole Miss. He came away impressed by the amount of players John Calipari has sent to the NBA.

“They have seven all-stars and they have a lot of first-round draft picks,” Maluach told On3’s Jamie Shaw. “They have like 38 of them. I know so many players have been there, great players like Anthony Davis, Karl Anthony Towns, Malik Monk, and so many other players. Kentucky is a big program, so many players are from there.”

While Maluach said he doesn’t have a timetable for a decision, the same can’t be said for Knox. His decision could come very soon.

“What’s next is I’ll be committing. I’m not taking any more visits,” Knox said on Jan. 25. “I don’t have a date in mind. When the time is right, the time will be right.”

With Duke and Kentucky among the schools vying for his commitment, Maluach’s decision could be the difference in who ends up with the No. 1 recruiting class in 2024.

A Pair of Potential Reclassifications

Khaman Maluach and Karter Knox aren’t the only players to recently take official visits to Kentucky. Jasper Johnson and Darryn Peterson are a couple of 2025 prospects that have been rumored as potential reclassification candidates.

Johnson, a 6-foot-4, 170-pound guard from Link Academy (MO) is a Kentucky native and spent time at Woodford County (Versailles, KY) before his transfer this past summer. He previously took an official visit to North Carolina, an official visit to Kentucky on Feb. 10, and has since taken a visit to Auburn. With his current standing in the class of 2025, Johnson could potentially move up to the 2024 class. However, a decision on that likely won’t be made until later down the line.

Meanwhile, Peterson, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound shooting guard from Huntington Prep (Huntington, WV), is set to take his official visit to Kentucky in the coming weeks. He has scheduled his official visit for March 6 and is set to attend Kentucky’s Senior Night matchup versus Vanderbilt.

Peterson’s most recent visit to Kentucky was in October for Big Blue Madness. Since then, he’s trimmed his list to eight schools: Arkansas, Baylor, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio State.

“They’re One-and-Done University,” Peterson told KSR of Kentucky. “Most guards that go there go one-and-done and immediately go to the league and play well.”