KSR Today: Kentucky MBB on the recruiting trail, men's tennis in SEC title
Good morning, folks! The AAU basketball circuit is officially off and running as the top high school hoopers from across the country hit the grassroots stage for the rest of the spring and into the summer. Most notably, the Nike EYBL session I in Atlanta and the Adidas 3SSB chapter I in Iowa have been the homes this weekend to plenty of Kentucky targets. Games began on Friday and continue throughout the rest of Sunday.
Some of the prospects Kentucky kept a close eye on? Tre Johnson, the No. 1 ranked player in the 2024 class, was a top priority this weekend and has been since he was offered a scholarship last summer. Head coach John Calipari, associate coach Orlando Antigua, and assistant coach Chin Coleman all watched Johnson play on Saturday. Fellow ’24 recruit Karter Knox, the younger brother of former ‘Cat Kevin Knox, was also a major priority for the coaching staff this weekend as was five-star Boogie Fland, who is UK’s top point guard prospect. Fland had an impressive 30-point performance with five made triples on Saturday.
Class of 2025 AAU teammates, Jasper Johnson (from nearby Woodford County High School) and Jayden Quaintaince, both held the attention of the Kentucky staff throughout the weekend for Team Thad. A potential new name to keep an eye on is 2024 five-star Liam McNeeley, who doesn’t hold a UK offer yet but was being watched plenty by the Wildcat staff. That only scratches the surface, too. We’ll have plenty of updates coming throughout Sunday and into the week from all the recruiting happenings of this weekend. Some of that content is already available over at KSBoard.
Now let’s dive into the rest of today’s news and notes.
Big Blue Wall picks up huge transfer
On Saturday, during his trip to Lexington, Southern California offensive tackle Courtland Ford announced that he will transfer to Kentucky where he will have three more years of college eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-5, 305-pound former three-star recruit entered his name into the transfer portal on Sunday and immediately locked in a visit with the Wildcats, leading to a quick commitment.
Ford, who just wrapped up his redshirt sophomore season with USC, played in 20 games across three seasons with the Trojans, starting 12 of them with 11 coming at left tackle. Eight of his starts came as a sophomore in 2021 before earning the starting job out of camp in 2022. He earned three starts upon Lincoln Riley’s arrival last fall, one in the Cotton Bowl this past January.
Ford’s addition is huge for offensive line coach Zach Yenser and the status of this season’s Big Blue Wall. Injuries kept Coach Yenser’s unit from building any rapport during fall camp ahead of the 2022 campaign. Kentucky has already brought in Northern Illinois transfer Marques Cox to fill in the hole at left tackle. Adding Ford into the fold at right tackle is another important step in building the foundation for the 2023 offensive line.
While you’re here, check out KSR’s updated Transfer Tracker here to keep up with everything happening in the portal.
Kentucky men’s tennis playing in SEC Championship
After getting swept by Tennessee in the regular season, No. 5 Kentucky men’s tennis got some timely revenge on the Volunteers in the postseason. The Wildcats came back from down 3-1 to beat Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, 4-3. The match lasted 3.5 hours and Kentucky needed every single second to come away with a hard-fought victory.
For the second straight season, Kentucky will play in the SEC Championship. Fifth-year Alafia Ayeni saved three match points on his way to the dual-clinching victory in second singles, securing the win for the ‘Cats.
“Wow, I mean what a battle,” Ayeni said, according to UK Athletics. “That’s what college tennis is all about. Two great rivals going down to the wire. It was looking really tough for me in the second set, I had to save three match points on his serve, but I’m just really proud of the way the team helped me fight through it. The team being there for me and supporting me, that was the thing that pushed me to victory.”
Kentucky will take on the SEC’s top-seeded Georgia Bulldogs in the championship game Sunday, which is set for 4:30 p.m. EST on the SEC Network. Georgia beat UK during the regular season 5-2; can the ‘Cats exact revenge in back-to-back days?
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Baseball/softball struggle in doubleheaders
While Saturday was a great one to spend at the ballparks in Lexington, the product on the field left plenty to be desired. Both the Kentucky baseball and softball programs lost their doubleheaders on Saturday after Friday’s games were postponed due to weather. It was even Bark in the Park Day in Lexington; those good boys and girls deserved a better showing.
No. 11 Kentucky baseball dropped both games to Texas A&M at Kentucky Proud Park, losing game one 6-3 thanks to an early three-run homer by the Aggies and then falling in game two after the Aggies brought in two runs in the ninth inning to lock in an 8-7 victory. The Bat ‘Cats will look to avoid the sweep on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network+.
Meanwhile, No. 20 Kentucky softball was blown out by No. 11 Arkansas at John Cropp Stadium, losing both games on Saturday by a combined score of 22-7. The Razorbacks won game one 8-1 then a shortened game two 14-6. The Wildcats have now lost six straight SEC contests for the first time since 2015, falling to 7-10 in league play. Rachel Lawson’s group will also look to avoid the sweep on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST.
Coach Prime lands Vito Tisdale
Former Kentucky safety, Vito Tisdale, will be joining Team Prime Time in Colorado. The former class of 2020 signee made the trip to Boulder this weekend for Colorado’s spring game and made the commitment announcement via Twitter.
Kentucky dismissed Tisdale from the team for a violation of team rules back in March and the defensive back officially entered the transfer portal a week ago. It did not take long for him to find his next home. Tisdale will be joining what will be one of the most talked-about teams in college football this season with Deion Sanders at the helm. From a personality standpoint, this feels like the perfect match.
Devin Booker, Anthony Davis both drop 30 in wins
The Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers both locked up big wins on Saturday due in large part to their respective former Kentucky superstars. Devin Booker dropped in 30 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in the Suns’ 112-100 win over the Kawhi Leonard/Paul George-less LA Clippers, taking a commanding 3-1 lead with the series shifting back to Phoenix. Elsewhere, Anthony Davis poured in 31 points and 17 rebounds for the Lakers in a critical 111-101 Game 3 victory for the Lakers over the Memphis Grizzlies to take a 2-1 series lead.
Sunday, April 23
1:00 (ABC): No. 4 Cavaliers @ No. 5 Knicks (Randle, Quickley) [NYK leads 2-1]
3:30 (ABC): No. 3 Kings (Fox, Lyles, Monk) @ No. 6 Warriors [SAC leads 2-1]
7:00 (TNT): No. 2 Celtics @ No. 7 Hawks [BOS leads 2-1]
9:30 (TNT): No. 1 Nuggets (Murray) @ No. 8 Timberwolves (Towns) [DEN leads 3-0]
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