Source: Kentucky cuts ties with Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

Photo: Nick Koza

Once seen as a near-lock to end up in Lexington, Kentucky has opted to back away from the table in the recruitment of 2022 five-star forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, sources tell KSR.

Huntley-Hatfield, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound forward in the junior class, is considered the No. 6 prospect in the 2022 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Sources tell KSR that Kentucky hasn’t spoken to Huntley-Hatfield since the 6-foot-10 forward transferred from prep powerhouse IMG Academy to Scotland Performance Institute in Scotland, PA back in July, opting to part ways at that point moving forward.

This afternoon, the five-star prospect announced he would be cutting his list to six schools this Friday at 1:00 p.m. ET, with sources telling KSR that Kentucky will not be included.

Top 6…

— Brandon ‎ߙ (@RealGupaveli) August 25, 2020

Kentucky has long been seen as the favorite in Huntley-Hatfield’s recruitment since he jumped onto the scene as a high-profile prospect, as the Clarksville, TN native is loosely related to former Wildcat Alex Poythress. He has also said on numerous occasions that Kentucky was his dream school growing up.

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“They feel like I can be a really good player in the future if I keep working hard and the sky is the limit for me,” Huntley-Hatfield said of Kentucky in an interview with Corey Evans of Rivals.com back in October. “I feel like I would want to be a part of that and growing up, that has been my dream school.”

While Huntley-Hatfield has made it clear he loves Kentucky, he also went out of his way back in June to tell fans he is open to all schools.

“I think we should get ONE THING straight…I love Kentucky, they were my dream school growing up and ALL those things are true but I am open and interested in ALL schools interested in me,” Huntley-Hatfield said on Twitter. “I am not stuck on one school whatsoever. My options are completely open! Just to clear the air!!”

With Kentucky out of the picture, Huntley-Hatfield currently holds offers from Ole Miss, Tennessee, Baylor, Kansas, Florida State, Wake Forest, and Ohio State, among others.