Kentucky named a finalist for pair of Top 500 recruits from class of 2026
With Kentucky football looking to put the finishing touches on its 2025 recruiting class, the attention is slowly shifting toward the future. Although the Wildcats have yet to land a commitment from the 2026 cycle, the staff’s top targets are beginning to emerge.
Class of 2026 prospects Heze Kent and Scottland Dover both cut their top schools list on Saturday, with Kent going down to seven options and Dover down to four. Kentucky was named to both. Kent, ranked No. 154 overall by the On3 Industry Ranking, is a 6-foot-6, 245-pound athlete out of Georgia while Dover, ranked No. 472 overall, is a 6-foot-4, 290-pound offensive lineman from North Carolina.
Along with Kentucky, Kent is also considering Ohio State, Miami (FL), Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Southern California — a pretty impressive group of schools for the Wildcats to be mentioned with. He previously announced a Top 10 in early June, but Colorado, Florida State, and Tennessee did not make the Top 7 roughly two months later.
Kent has been on UK’s radar dating back to Nov. 2022, when he announced on social media an offer from the Wildcats — long before the high-major schools reached out with scholarships. Pulling a Georgia kid away from Kirby Smart’s program won’t be easy though, no matter how long the relationship goes back. But Kentucky continues to stick around.
Meanwhile, Dover is considering UK, Tennessee, Appalachian State, and Coastal Carolina. He also announced a commitment date for Friday, August 23. His finalists are intriguing — two SEC schools and two Sun Belt schools don’t typically make up a ranked recruit’s Top 4. The likes of Miami (OH), North Carolina A&T, and Gardner-Webb have also reached out with offers.
The Volunteers were actually the first Division I program to offer Dover, which happened back in February (he even visited Knoxville in late July). Kentucky offered a couple of months later in April. Dover has earned all of his scholarship offers in the last six months. So far, Tennessee is the only school to receive a visit and there are not currently any more on the docket.
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