Antonio Reeves is currently taking summer classes at Illinois State

No, those screenshots weren’t photoshopped or outdated. Antonio Reeves is, in fact, enrolled at Illinois State for summer classes.

After a week-plus of speculation regarding Reeves’ academic status, Stadium’s Jeff Goodman reported Thursday that Reeves is currently enrolled at ISU, where he started his college basketball career before transferring to Kentucky last offseason.

“Illinois State registrar confirmed to me that Kentucky guard Antonio Reeves is enrolled in summer classes,” Goodman reported. “Reeves spent his first three years at Illinois State prior to transferring to Kentucky last season. Still some moving parts with this one — especially over last few days.”

Ilinois State registrar confirmed to me that Kentucky guard Antonio Reeves is enrolled in summer classes.

Reeves spent his first three years at Illinois State prior to transferring to Kentucky last season.

Still some moving parts with this one – especially over last few days.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 15, 2023

Reeves popped up in the student directory at Illinois State last week, though the database also includes names of former students, leading to speculation regarding the accuracy of the Kentucky standout’s current status.

Unfortunately, it’s an up-to-date look at Reeves’ intentions: the native of Chicago is working toward graduation in hopes of achieving grad transfer status. That would create a path to immediate eligibility through the transfer portal, allowing him to explore his options for one final season of college basketball away from Lexington.

Reeves is a full-time student with the summer term at Illinois State set to last through August 12, kicking the can down the road once again on Kentucky’s complete roster for 2023-24.

It’s yet another turn in the roller coaster ride that has been the 6-foot-4 guard’s decision this offseason, one filled with both optimism and pessimism at various points regarding his potential return. Just this past weekend, it was a general consensus within the program that Reeves was set to announce his return to Kentucky — Tuesday was seen as the day he’d go public — only for his camp to go silent this week with winds now shifting back toward a transfer.

The standout scorer’s desire to explore his transfer options stems from role and NIL concerns, sources close to Reeves tell KSR. He has been open to a return, but not at the expense of taking a back seat to the program’s top-ranked recruiting class, most notably ball-dominant guards in DJ Wagner and Rob Dillingham. With other high-profile schools set to offer go-to starring roles and lucrative financial guarantees, the native of Chicago has wanted confirmation he’ll be taken care of in Lexington in his last year of eligibility should he decide to stay.

Without clear upgrade options in the portal among scoring guards, Reeves’ perceived leverage puts Kentucky in a difficult spot as it looks to wrap up the roster.

Can Calipari alleviate concerns that the freshmen will get first dibs at minutes and touches? Could a big-time NIL guarantee shift the momentum back in the Wildcats’ favor? If not, it appears Reeves’ time in Lexington will come to a close — assuming he can get the credits necessary to graduate in time.

And if he can’t, does he still decide to come back to Kentucky? Or does he decide to explore his professional options overseas?

He’s clearly looking for as many options as possible before reaching a final decision.