Four-star '24 center Somto Cyril signs NLI with Kentucky

Not long after Boogie Fland signed his National Letter of Intent with the Kentucky Wildcats, Somto Cyril joined his future teammate by doing the same.

On Wednesday afternoon, Cyril put pen to paper and officially signed his NLI to join Kentucky for the 2024-25 season. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound center is considered a four-star recruit from the 2024 class and is ranked No. 51 overall by the On3 Industry Ranking. He chose UK over the likes of Providence, Indiana, Cincinnati, and others.

A native of Nigeria, Cyril currently plays for Overtime Elite’s RWE and is already six games into his senior season. He’s averaging 11.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 70.5 percent from the field.

BIG SOMTO = BIG BLUE 💙 @somto_cyril @KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/q8op82ahFh

— Overtime Elite (@OvertimeElite) November 8, 2023

Cyril, who boasts a 7-foot-5 wingspan and is believed by many to have a college-ready game, has been hearing from the Kentucky coaching staff dating back to June 2022. A visit to UK this past June turned into a commitment a couple of weeks later. He was teammates in 2022-23 for OTE’s Cold Hearts with current Wildcat freshman guard Rob Dillingham.

“I’m gonna tell you right now, in all my years of doing high school basketball — I’ve coached a lot of pros. Hell, I had Deandre Ayton, and he was a grown man. A man amongst boys, right?” Nick Weaver, a head coach at OTE, said before Cyril committed to UK on Sunday Morning Sports Talk. “Somto, I have never seen anything like him. I have never seen anybody in high school basketball or OTE that we played in, never seen anybody dominate a game like him physically. He was the most physical presence I have ever seen at the high school level.”

Cyril, who will be 19 by the time he arrives at Kentucky, is viewed as a frontcourt bruiser, one who can dominate in the paint on both ends of the floor against college competition. He was named OTE’s Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and more than held his own against five-star ’25 forward Cameron Boozer in a head-to-head matchup last month. Cyril posted 17 points and 18 rebounds on 6-11 shooting in just 24 minutes against Boozer in what was a 94-75 win for RWE.

Welcome to the BBN, Somto.