Kentucky among group of finalists for 5-star PF Chris Cenac

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Chris Cenac (left) and Mark Pope - UK Athletics

Mark Pope has Kentucky as a serious candidate to land a couple of five-star power forwards. This week, one of them included the Wildcats in his group of finalists.

On Wednesday night, On3’s Joe Tipton reported that Chris Cenac is down to a final seven with a decision possibly coming by the end of November. A 6-foot-10 senior at Link Academy (MO), Cenac is considering Kentucky, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Houston, LSU, and Tennessee. The New Orleans native has officially visited UK, Houston, Auburn, and Tennessee.

According to the On3 Industry Ranking, Cenac is considered the No. 7 overall prospect from the 2025 recruiting class. He cut UConn, Alabama, Louisville, Texas, and Michigan State from his previous list of options.

NEWS: 5⭐️ Chris Cenac Jr. is down to seven schools, his father tells @On3Recruits.

The 6-10 Power Forward is the No. 5 overall player in the country, per On3.

Story: https://t.co/T5i0fc8Pad pic.twitter.com/V05TgCbCWR
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) October 9, 2024

Along with Cenac, Pope also has Kentucky in the mix for fellow five-star power forward Caleb Wilson. The Wildcats would certainly take both if that were to happen, but the likelier (although not certain) outcome is that UK lands one or the other. Wilson (Sept. 13) and Cenac (Sept. 27) took their official visits to Lexington last month.

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“It was pretty good,” Cenac told Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ about his visit to Kentucky. “Everybody was pretty welcoming. They’re all good people. It was a pretty good visit overall.”

Another plus for Kentucky is that Cenac is familiar with both Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno — UK’s current 2025 commits. He told KSR+ that he would fit in well alongside those two on the floor. Cenac wants to play in a spread-out, NBA-style offensive system, which fits Pope’s coaching philosophy.

Looking ahead, expect Cenac to take a few more visits before going into decision mode. He’s already slated to check out LSU in early November for an official. Arkansas and Baylor are the two schools from his top seven yet to receive/schedule an official visit.