Dean Rueckert 'stays in touch' with Kentucky -- but hometown BYU may be the favorite

It’s an interesting dynamic for 2026 four-star wing Dean Rueckert of Provo, Utah — the home of the BYU Cougars. Mark Pope and Cody Fueger built strong early relationships with the 6-8 standout at their previous stop, but now, they’ve made the move to Lexington and reset their recruiting board, juggling prior relationships with new blue-blood expectations and what’s best for Kentucky. The local edge they once had and his prior fit are totally different as the staff recruits for tomorrow.

Rueckert heard from Kentucky right after the start of the contact period with rising juniors last June, looking to pick up where he left off with the staff at BYU. Since then? It’s been up and down.

“They’ll check in a little bit — not a ton. I stay in touch with them,” he told KSR.

He took multiple unofficial visits to BYU when Pope, Fueger and the rest of that staff were in Provo. When they moved to Lexington, he was ‘looking forward to getting on campus and getting to learn more about the Kentucky program.’

How is his recruitment today? Three schools are gaining the most traction.

“It’s been good. It’s good,” he said of the process. “I like talking to coaches, so it’s fun. I’m talking most with BYU, Stanford, Washington — those are probably the three. Those are great coaching staffs, they are staffs I connect with. They’re just good programs, good programs with basketball history.”

He shared his individual thoughts on the three schools pushing the hardest for him at this stage:

BYU: “I grew up close to BYU. They’ve got a new coaching staff that I really like.”

Washington: “I went out on a visit, their coaching staff is brand new from a few years ago. They’re a bunch of nice guys, really cool coaching staff.”

Stanford: “It’s a great academic school, just a great school. I love hearing from them.”

Where do things stand with Kentucky today? His interest remains strong and he enjoys the contact he does have with the staff, even if it’s not as consistent as it was before.

“I really liked them when they were at BYU, they’re super cool and I like them,” Rueckert told KSR. “Now they’re at Kentucky and Kentucky is a great basketball school, obviously. It’s a historical basketball school. It’s a big opportunity for them and it’d be a big opportunity for me. I like staying in touch and talking with those guys.”

An offer could totally flip his recruitment, too — along with any other blue blood potentially interested in coming in late. Three schools are leading the charge in terms of prioritizing him now, but that doesn’t mean he’s down to those three. If a big-time program expresses interest, he’ll be interested.

“That would change things a lot. I think that would be a great opportunity for me,” he said. “I keep all my options open, I’m not set on one school — I’ll talk to everybody. I’m just going to let it play out and see who I like, but I’d heavily consider a blue blood.”

For that reason, he’s not going to commit anytime soon. He wants to be as thorough as possible before cutting things down and moving toward a decision.

“I’m not thinking a lot about committing right now,” he told KSR. “I’m just keeping it open until it feels right for me.”

That works in Kentucky’s favor, obviously, as it continues to monitor his progress and development as a top-60 recruit — he sits at No. 56 nationally and No. 18 among small forwards in the On3 Industry Ranking. Rueckert has some high highs, going for 19 points on 5-8 shooting from three in his first EYBL game of the weekend in front of Pope and Fueger, one of the top performers of the event on day one. Then he closed with three points on 1-6 shooting from deep, highlighting some of the low lows keeping him from a surefire offer.

At minimum, he’s a name to loosely keep an eye on for the Cats. In the meantime, Pope’s replacement in Provo, Kevin Young, is leading the charge and pushing hard for BYU. In fact, On3’s Joe Tipton is predicting the 6-8 wing to ultimately stay home and suit up for the Cougars in college.

The next few months will go a long way in deciding where Rueckert ends up.

Dean Rueckert at EYBL Session 1 with the Utah Prospects! @dean_rueckert @NikeEYB pic.twitter.com/saYD2cn6dm

— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) April 30, 2025