'25 SG Jasper Johnson set to officially visit Kentucky this weekend

Lexington native Jasper Johnson will return home in the coming days. The highly-rated shooting guard is set to officially visit the Kentucky Wildcats this weekend.

Johnson’s official visit is expected to begin on Friday and run through Sunday. On3’s Joe Tipton initially broke the news a couple of weeks ago. Johnson, a 6-foot-4 high school junior, is coming off an official visit to North Carolina last weekend. The Link Academy (MO) product has also taken OVs to West Virginia (Sept. 2023) and Missouri (Nov. 2023) with another scheduled for Auburn next weekend.

Considered the No. 12 overall class of 2025 recruit by the On3 Industry Ranking, Johnson is down to a list of 10 schools: Kentucky, Kansas, Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Missouri, Louisville, North Carolina, Southern California, and West Virginia.

Kentucky will host Gonzaga on Saturday, Feb. 10. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. EST on CBS. Expect Johnson and his family to be seated behind the UK bench.

Jasper Johnson, the No. 12 overall prospect in 2025 and a Lexington native, tells me he will take an official visit to Kentucky this weekend. https://t.co/t1aG6BxWRz pic.twitter.com/LLxMFf5rDA

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) February 8, 2024

Johnson, who earned his offer from Kentucky in May 2023, is considered one of the Wildcats’ top targets in the 2025 cycle. Head coach John Calipari, along with assistants Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman, have all been in to see Johnson at some point this season.

Most notably, Calipari and Coleman were at Woodford County High School — Johnson’s previous school before transferring last offseason — in January to watch Johnson and Link Academy take on Huntington Prep (WV). Johnson put on a show too, scoring 37 points while making 10 three-pointers against five-star ’25 guard Darryn Peterson, who is also a UK target. Coaches from North Carolina, Missouri, and West Virginia lined the court for that matchup, as well.

“Coach Orlando (Antigua) reaches out to me probably every day,” Johnson told On3 back in December. “He wants me to come back home for my college season. They’re planning for me to be there for nine months and then off to the NBA and that’s what I really want to do in college. I feel like if that’s the best option then it could be there, but if it’s somewhere else, then it could be somewhere else.

“(Calipari) is definitely a good coach. I see how they’re playing multiple guards this year and how they’re making it work.”

A possible reclassification to 2024 is on the table for Johnson, but that final decision likely won’t be made until later on in his process. Kentucky would take him regardless of what class he ultimately ends up in. A commitment is expected sometime this summer.

Time to roll out the Blue Carpet.