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KSR Today: Dog days of summer

Adam Luckettby:Adam Luckett•06/04/22•

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(Photo courtesy of Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

The first weekend of June has officially arrived, and some would consider that the kickoff of wedding season. While it may be time for the yearly re-watch of “Wedding Crashers”, others would consider it the official beginning of summer.

After Kentucky’s deep SEC Tournament run was not enough to get the Bat Cats into the NCAA Tournament, the spring sports season is over, and we’re all just playing the waiting game until the fall semester comes around. Welcome to summer, Big Blue Nation.

Luckily, we’ll get a week of Kentucky basketball in the Bahamas come August, but that is still two months away. Over on the football side, there are still over 90 days left until toe meets leather at Kroger Field. With a two-day break in between the NBA Finals, things are very thin in the sports world right now.

However, KSR refuses to sleep and will get through this tough time of the year together. Luckily, it is always roster-building season in college athletics.

Kentucky hosts significant unofficial visitor

In the football recruiting world, some surprising news was delivered on Friday afternoon as four-star wide receiver Anthony Brown has pushed back his official visit to Kentucky. The Springfield (Ohio) High native is changing his official visit date to Kentucky and won’t arrive on campus until June 17. Vince Marrow will now get to host this talented prospect the week after he makes an official visit stop at Cincinnati.

That means Kentucky is getting to put the full-court press on a key unofficial visitor. One week after taking a trip to Tennessee, Bowling Green (Ky.) South Warren defensive back Cristian Conyer is in Lexington as the Wildcats attempt to close strong for the three-star prospect.

There is a two-school battle for Conyer in the SEC East as the Wildcats attempt to defeat Tennessee for a head-to-head recruiting win. Conyer is expected to return to Lexington for an official visit on June 17 and then will return to Rocky Top for an official visit on June 24.

Kentucky is hoping that a strong enough relationship has been built to keep the in-state prospect home.

SEC Spring Meetings are done and not much has changed

After a fun four days in Destin, the SEC Spring Meetings wrapped up on Friday, and we are still unclear about the future scheduling model when Oklahoma and Texas join the league. Two models were discussed as the conference seems to be split on the 8 vs. 9 debate due to a multitude of factors from future non-conference schedules to the undetermined future of the College Football Playoff.

“We have more work to do,” Greg Sankey tells SI. “Narrowed it down to a couple of options. You never know what (else) could emerge.”

However, we do have some clarification on the basketball side. The league will stick with 18 conference games when Texas and Oklahoma slide over from the Big 12, but each team will only have two opponents appear on the schedule twice. In the postseason, the SEC Tournament will feature all 16 teams in a single-elimination format with the top four teams receiving a double-bye.

Down the line, we should get some more scheduling news in the summer as the SEC tries to figure out what is best in the conference when it comes to football. At the end of the day, it will all be about doing what’s best to get the league’s top team(s) into the playoff.

KHSAA Baseball Tournament enters quarterfinals

After four more games at Kentucky Proud Park on Friday, the state baseball tournament has been whittled down to eight teams. No. 1 McCracken County and No. 3 St. Xavier were the big winners as the race to find the next champion is on in Lexington. Saturday will feature four games for a long day of action at the home of Kentucky baseball.

  • Boyd County vs. Woodford County (10:30 a.m.)
  • Beechwood vs. Russell County (1:30 p.m.)
  • Central Hardin vs. St. Xavier (5:00 p.m.)
  • McCracken County vs. Campbell County (8:30 p.m.)

After the four games on Saturday, the winners will return home for a week off before resuming the tournament on Friday, June 10, and crowning a champion on the next day. It’s hard to beat playoff baseball, and there should be some thrilling action on Saturday on a jam-packed day on the diamond.

Arch Manning sweepstakes are heating up

Kentucky is focused on filling out its 2023 recruiting class, but nationally most of the focus is on the No. 1 overall recruit. Arch Manning — Peyton and Eli’s nephew — is seemingly down to a few schools and is getting close to his final decision. However, official visits must be made first.

The five-star prospect is on a visit to Georgia, and the tweets are coming in fast.

Texas appears to be the top competition for the next Manning at the moment but the Longhorns just landed former No. 1 overall recruit Quinn Ewers from the transfer portal. The Texas native will be a redshirt freshman this season while UGA needs a succession plan for super senior Stetson Bennett.

Kirby Smart could be close to pulling off one of the biggest recruiting wins of his tenure.

South Carolina’s Full House

Have to give the Gamecocks some credit here. This is some outstanding content.

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2025-04-24