4-star Indiana decommit Liam McNeeley in contact with Kentucky, per report

John Calipari currently has six incoming freshmen committed to joining Kentucky for the 2024-25 season. There is a world where he adds a seventh.

According to ESPN’s Paul Biancardi, four-star wing Liam McNeeley has had contact with Kentucky. The extent of that communication is unknown, but KSR’s Jack Pilgrim reported earlier this month that Calipari is “highly interested” in the 6-foot-7 senior from Texas. McNeeley previously signed to Indiana in October but reopened his recruitment on March 8.

McNeeley is considered the No. 15 overall recruit in the 2024 class, per the On3 Industry Ranking. He has not publicly announced a scholarship offer from UK.

Recruiting News:

I spoke with Liam McNeely on his de-commitment from Indiana and his current recruiting situation.

"I personally reached out to Indiana, spoke with Coach Mike Woodson and had a direct conversation with him," McNeeley told ESPN.

“I expressed my utmost respect… pic.twitter.com/ou3JuSHO3L

— Paul Biancardi (@PaulBiancardi) March 29, 2024

Upon being released from his National Letter of Intent by Indiana, McNeeley was viewed as a Kansas lean. However, he told Biancardi that, along with Kentucky and the Jawhawks, UConn, Houston, and Michigan are among the “many” schools he’s also hearing from as of late.

A final decision could be a couple of weeks out though.

“Right now, my primary focus is preparing and practicing for the upcoming McDonald’s game (April 2) and Chipotle Nationals (April 4-6),” McNeeley told ESPN. “I am going to hold off any college visits until those basketball events have concluded.“

If Kentucky does seriously pursue McNeeley, how would he factor into the current recruiting class? McNeeley is an excellent shooter and scorer with plenty of size on the wing, but the Wildcats already have a pair of small forwards in four-stars Karter Knox (No. 21 overall) and Billy Richmond (No. 24).

Since Kentucky’s 2023-24 season came to an early end, there has been plenty of talk about building an older roster moving forward, particularly through the transfer portal. Adding a seventh freshman would be the opposite of that, but there’s no denying McNeeley’s talent.