Travis Perry has officially signed his NLI with Kentucky

It took him a bit longer than the rest of his future teammates, but Kentucky commit Travis Perry has officially signed his National Letter of Intent with the Wildcats.

The news was announced by the program on Wednesday morning, roughly 12 hours before the Early Signing Period comes to a close. Perry declared his commitment to Kentucky on Sunday, which came as a shock to the Big Blue Nation. The four-star point guard was down to a top-five list that included UK, Alabama, Ole Miss, Cincinnati, and Western Kentucky, but the assumption leading into his decision was that the in-state Wildcats would not be the choice.

Perry gave Kentucky fans a pleasant surprise though. The 6-foot-2 floor general — ranked No. 87 in the class of 2024 by On3’s Industry Ranking — announced his pledge to UK at Lyon County High School, revealing a white Kentucky shirt underneath his jacket. He becomes the second consecutive top-ranked player from the Bluegrass to join the ‘Cats (Reed Sheppard; 2023).

#BBN, let's welcome @Travis_Perry11 to #LaFamilia! #NSD24 x #GoBigBlue pic.twitter.com/IeNr8sN7vk

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) November 15, 2023

In reality, we probably should have known that Perry would pick Kentucky — it almost made too much sense. Cincinnati and Ole Miss were the perceived leaders even on the morning of his announcement. But the idea of playing for the program he grew up cheering for, while also watching Reed Sheppard (who played at North Laurel in London, KY) thrive early into his freshman season, helped push him over the edge.

“All the schools that recruited me did a great job and I had great relationships with really all of them, especially the finalists, but it just came down to being that Kentucky kid from Kentucky, really want to go out there and win for Kentucky,” Perry said during Monday morning’s edition of KSR. “It’s different when you can have a chance to contribute and win for your home state especially it being Kentucky with how great the fans are and how great the basketball is in the state. And really just being able to put on that Kentucky jersey every day and represent it well.”

Of course, you can’t go too long when talking about Perry without recognizing what he’s already accomplished at the high school level. During his junior season at the Sweet 16 state tournament inside Rupp Arena, he broke the state’s all-time scoring record, surpassing Kelly “King” Coleman’s record that had stood for nearly seven decades. Perry will look to add to his 4,359 career points as he begins his final high school season in just a couple of weeks.

Taking a step back, Perry joins a four-man 2024 recruiting class for head coach John Calipari that also includes five-star C Jayden Quaintance (No. 8 overall), four-star PG Boogie Fland (No. 22), and four-star C Somto Cyril (No. 51). On3 ranks it as the second-best class in the nation. More help could be on the way, too. The likes of five-star wing Karter Knox and four-star wing Billy Richmond also remain on the board. In particular, Richmond has been trending heavily toward the Wildcats over the last week. Don’t count out the possibility of some reclassification candidates from 2025, either.

Calipari is back to his old ways of cooking on the recruiting trail.