North Florida star Chaz Lanier schedules visit to Kentucky

Kentucky is officially making its move on North Florida star Chaz Lanier, widely considered one of the top players in the transfer portal and a priority for Mark Pope to round out his debut roster in Lexington.

Lanier, a native of Nashville, has scheduled an official visit to Kentucky starting Monday, according to Travis Branham of 247Sports. That comes following a trip to BYU this weekend with a visit to Tennessee also in the works, that date still up in the air.

Lanier averaged 19.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game on absurd 51/44/88 shooting splits last season at North Florida, emerging as one of the top scoring threats in college basketball. The 6-4 guard is currently testing the draft waters and recently participated in the G League Elite Camp in Chicago last weekend, but did not get the call-up to the Draft Combine, opening the door to a likely return to college for his final season of eligibility.

Kentucky and Tennessee had been widely seen as the top contenders to land his commitment with BYU fighting for his services, as well. Now, those three schools are on the docket to host the nation’s No. 8 overall player and No. 3 shooting guard in the portal.

Can Pope seal the deal with the dynamic scorer? He’s battling his old school in the first run of visits.