KSR Today: New football commits, Will Riley's decision, and the CWS

Good morning, folks! It’s been a big weekend on the recruiting trail for the Kentucky football program and more good news could be on the way.

Since Friday night, Kentucky, led by recruiting ace/associate head coach Vince Marrow, has built plenty of momentum for the 2025 recruiting cycle. It’s the final significant official visit weekend of the summer, so closing on a handful of key targets was going to be necessary. With three commits in less than 48 hours, the dice are starting to heat up for Marrow and company.

It started with 6-foot-7, 255-pound EDGE Nicholas Smith out of Georgia committing to the ‘Cats on the first day of his official visit on Friday. Kentucky’s defensive line coach Anwar Stewart helped pave the for the under-the-radar prospect. Smith also held offers from the likes of Cincinnati, UCF, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, and West Virginia.

Then, on Saturday, a pair of future ‘Cats made the decision to make Lexington their next home. Wide receiver Preston Bowman — who has been on UK’s radar for over three years now and had just wrapped up his OV — was the first to pop, choosing Kentucky over recent offers from Michigan and Louisville. Ohio State offered him just this morning, too. Don’t be surprised if the 6-foot, 195-pound pass-catcher out of Ohio sees a ratings bump in the very near future.

And finally, UCF cornerback commit DeMarcus Gardner, who took his official visit to UK last weekend, closed out the trio of new pledges by flipping to the Wildcats not long after Bowman made his decision. Another product of Georgia, the three-star (No. 657 overall by the On3 Industry Ranking) defensive back prospect had been trending as a possible flip candidate for a while now. He finally pulled the trigger last night.

With the dust settling, Kentucky is now up to 12 commits for the 2025 recruiting class. Could more be on the way? On3’s Steve Wiltfong recently logged a pair of significant RPM picks in favor of the Wildcats to land two more talented four-star recruits.

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Will Riley announcing college decision

Could Mark Pope land his first five-star high school recruit as the head coach of Kentucky?

Later this afternoon, five-star wing Will Riley is set to announce his college decision where he’ll choose between Kentucky, Illinois, Alabama, Arizona, and the New Zealand Breakers from the Australian NBL. The talented 6-foot-9 scorer lit up the Nike EYBL circuit in the spring and solidified himself as a Top 15 prospect in the country.

Riley, a native of Canada, will hold his commitment ceremony in Ontario from 2:00-3:30 p.m. EST. He’ll livestream the announcement on his Instagram page @Willyjball7. Riley is coming off official visits earlier this month to UK, Illinois, and Alabama. But as we head into a decision, the Fighting Illini (powered by former Kentucky assistant Orlando Antigua) appears to be the frontrunner.

Across On3, 247Sports, and Rivals, a total of eight picks have been logged in favor of Riley landing at Illinois. The BBN will have to hope for a major surprise in a few hours if they want to see Riley suiting up in the blue and white.

Texas A&M takes Game 1 of the CWS

While Kentucky fans would obviously rather see their team participating in the championship series, if any team is going to win the title, it would preferably be the program — Texas A&M — that took down the Bat Cats along the way. And if the Aggies can beat the Tennessee Volunteers by doing so, well that’s just an added bonus.

In Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series on Saturday, Texas A&M used a five-run third inning to take down Tennessee 9-5. Texas A&M starting pitcher Ryan Prager — who Kentucky fans remember well — gave up two runs and eight hits over six innings while striking out six Tennesee batters along the way.

The two SEC programs will face off again this afternoon with a championship on the line. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST on ESPN. Today, we’re all Aggie fans.

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Mic’d up with Lamont Butler

With summer practice underway, we’re slowly learning more and more about the 12 new Wildcats on Mark Pope’s debut Kentucky roster. Yesterday, UK helped introduce us to San Diego State transfer Lamont Butler, a defensive stalwart best known for hitting a game-winning shot in the 2023 Final Four.

Immediately, Butler hears trash talk from Kerr Kriisa, who claims he dropped 45 points on Butler during a matchup at the Maui Invitational (it was only 21, by the way). Listen to the Mic’d Up segment below and get to know one of the newest ‘Cats just a little bit better.

Mic'd up with @lamont_butler1 🎤 pic.twitter.com/V5RNqPlSvZ

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 22, 2024

Jaylen Brown honors Terrence Clarke

The legacy of Terrence Clarke, who tragically passed away in April 2021, continues to live on. And we can thank Boston Celtics guard/2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown for helping do so.

During the Celtics championship parade on Friday, Brown made sure to honor Clarke, who played for Kentucky during the 2020-21 season, by waving a No. 5 Clarke Celtics jersey to the crowd. Brown, a mentor to the late hooper, also honored Clarke by wearing his jersey during the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest earlier in the season.

JAYLEN BROWN. NOW THAT’S LOVE!

LLTC5💙🕊️ pic.twitter.com/IXl9kCJKIQ

— KJ🇯🇲 (@RealKayJones) June 21, 2024

Malachi Moreno playing in KABC Titans Shootout semis

Coming off an unofficial visit to Kentucky earlier this week, four-star center Malachi Moreno could add some hardware to his trophy case by the end of the day. The seven-foot big man has Great Crossing High School in the semifinals of the annual KABC Titans Shootout in Shelbyville, KY.

The Warhawks are 4-0 so far in the event, taking down — in order — Seneca (72-48), North Laurel (74-57), Cincinnati St. Xavier (44-37), and Princeton (69-58) over the last two days. This afternoon at Collins High School, Moreno and Great Crossing will take on DuPont Manual at 1:00 p.m. EST. A win would push them into the championship game, which is set for 4:00 p.m. EST against the winner of Louisville Male-Lousiville St. Xavier.

Mark Pope made sure to watch Moreno play on Friday, too, before traveling across the country to check out more of his top recruiting targets. Tickets for today’s semifinals/championship will cost $10 at the door.