Where Kentucky MBB stands with the 2023 recruiting class

Kentucky’s 2022 recruiting class will bring in two highly impressive five-stars to Lexington this summer in Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace, but it’s not exactly the four- or five-man group that the Big Blue Nation is used to seeing in Lexington.

Shaedon Sharpe reclassifying to 2021 and Skyy Clark backing off his commitment roughly one month ago has made this is a unique case compared to the usual John Calipari hauls. That being said, the 2022 class will go down as the lowest-ranked under Calipari, whether that’s technically fair or not.

But the class of 2023 has a chance to catapult Kentucky back to the top of the recruiting world. The current batch of high school juniors is loaded with high-end talent, particularly on the wing. The ‘Cats already have one prospect committed for the future in local star Reed Sheppard, who is considered a four-star recruit and the No. 24 overall player in the class, according to the On3 Consensus. He’s not your typical Bluegrass recruit, though — Sheppard is widely considered as one of the best overall guards in high school.

So who might join Sheppard for the 2023-24 season? The Kentucky coaching staff has been in constant contact with several class of 2023 members, most of them on the wing. Here’s where the ‘Cats stand in regards to the next group of recruits. Keep in mind that we’re only focusing on top 20 prospects with ties to Kentucky.

All rankings are courtesy of the On3 Consensus.

High on the radar

DJ Wagner: 6-foot-3, 165-pound CG – Camden, NJ
5-star, No. 1 overall
Visited: Yes, Oct. 15
Offered: Yes

There isn’t much more we can say about DJ Wagner that hasn’t already been said. His connections to John Calipari have made him a Kentucky lean since before he could ever play a minute of high school hoops. Kenny Payne’s recent hiring — and his own personal connections with the Wagner family — at Louisville could throw a wrench in the plans, but so far, the Cardinals haven’t made nearly the impact on Wagner’s recruitment that Kentucky has.

Wagner remains quiet when it comes to his recruitment, but did make a visit to Memphis around the same time he came to Lexington while Villanova is also involved. Kentucky coaches continue to regularly check in on him, as well.

Of all the players we’ll talk about in this post, Wagner is the one I would consider the most likely to choose the ‘Cats.

KJ Evans: 6-foot-10, 190-pound PF – Baltimore, MD
5-star, No. 2 overall
Visited: Yes, Nov. 5
Offered: Yes

After cutting his list down to five on Monday — which included Kentucky — KJ Evans had high praise for the ‘Cats in an interview with On3‘s Joe Tipton. Joining UK among his top choices are Indiana, Auburn, Oregon, and UCLA, however, Evans has only taken one official visit and that was to Lexington. He does intend to take an official visit to Oregon at the end of April, though. The trio of UK, Oregon, and Indiana have all recently paid him in-person visits, too.

During his visit to Kentucky back in the fall, Evans said that the Kentucky staff was focusing on him, Sheppard (committed), Wagner, and Mackenzie Mgbako as the ideal 2023 class, along with Robert Dillingham, who had not yet committed to N.C. State at the time.

Mackenzie Mgbako: 6-foot-8, 185-pound SF – Gladstone, NJ
5-star, No. 5 overall
Visited: Yes, Oct. 15
Offered: Yes

Speaking of Mackenzie Mgbako, he’s long been considered a Duke lean, but that momentum came back in the fall and there hasn’t been much news on him ever since. What we do know is that he received an offer from the ‘Cats and came down for visit a month later, which coincided with Wagner’s and Sheppard’s visit and came after the Duke buzz began to grow. Mgbako told KSR in January that he has a “great relationship” with Kentucky, specifically Calipari and assistant coach Orlando Antigua. Gonzaga and Michigan were two other big-name schools he said were reaching out, while Duke is still heavily involved.

In the mix

Robert Dillingham: 6-foot-1, 160-pound PG – Charlotte, NC
5-star, No. 4 overall
Visited: Yes, Oct. 22
Offered: Yes

It’s tough to tell where Robert Dillingham is at this stage of his recruitment, as he’s just a couple of weeks removed from de-committing from N.C. State. Prior to picking the Wolfpack, Kentucky was considered one of the frontrunners, if not the overall leader at one point. Dillingham was committed to N.C. State for over three months before popping back onto the market.

KSR’s Jack Pilgrim recently wrote this about Dillingham:

The five-star prospect was once considered a heavy Kentucky lean, with sources telling KSR that he was a silent commit during the fall. His recruitment, though, was a controversial back-and-forth affair, one that led to several other programs — LSU, Memphis and North Carolina, in particular — believing they were in position to land a commitment at one point or another. His highly-publicized transfer from Combine Academy (NC) to Kanye West’s Donda Academy (CA) also added some clear noise to the situation.

Jack Pilgrim, Kentucky Sports Radio

So will Kentucky get involved again? A source tells KSR that UK has reached out to Dillingham since backing away from N.C. State, but it’s yet to be seen if the contact will be as serious as it was back in the fall. Would Calipari be willing to take on a three-guard class of Sheppard, Wagner, and Dillingham?

Matas Buzelis: 6-foot-10, 185-pound SF – Wolfeboro, NH
5-star, No. 11 overall
Visited: Yes, Dec. 21
Offered: Yes

One of the more uniquely talented prospects on the board, Matas Buzelis has taken plenty of visits over the past year, including to Wake Forest, Florida State, Purdue, Providence, DePaul, and Kentucky. Like most of the players on this list, he received his offer from the ‘Cats while on his trip to Lexington, but his recruitment has remained mostly quiet since then. Duke hasn’t been able to get Buzelis on campus for a visit but has offered the New Hampshire product, as have the likes of Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, and plenty others. He’ll likely have his pick of any high-major program.

Justin Edwards: 6-foot-7, 180-pound SF – Philadelphia, PA
5-star, No. 13 overall
Visited: Yes, Nov. 19
Offered: Yes

Another highly-ranked wing from this class, Justin Edwards is like many on this list who received his Kentucky offer shortly after his visit to Lexington. Calipari and Antigua have both paid visits to Edwards since the fall and have continued to keep tabs on him throughout the winter and into the spring. Edwards was in Knoxville last month for a visit to Tennessee and previously picked up an offer from Villanova in February. Antigua went up to watch Edwards and his Imhotep squad win the Pennsylvania 5A state title game over a week ago.

JJ Taylor: 6-foot-8, 180-pound SF – Chicago, IL
5-star, No. 4 overall
Visited: Yes, Oct. 22
Offered: Yes

The very first member from the class of 2023 to pick up an offer from Kentucky was JJ Taylor, which came during the first day of the open contact period on June 15, 2021. He holds a significant connection to UK assistant Chin Coleman, who has deep-rooted ties to the city of Chicago. Taylor eventually came down to Lexington for a visit in the fall and later had Calipari pop in for a visit earlier in 2022. Not much has been said publicly by Taylor about his recruitment as of late, but Kentucky is still one of the schools in the hunt.

Question marks?

Ron Holland: 6-foot-8, 195-pound PF – Duncanville, TX
5-star, No. 8 overall
Visited: No
Offered: No

Kentucky’s relationship with Ron Holland hasn’t been mentioned all that often when it comes to his recruitment, but there appears to be at least be some genuine interest. He told On3‘s Gerry Hamilton earlier this year that he’s “trying to get a hold of Kentucky” but quickly added that the conversations hadn’t gained much traction up to that point. Holland then told On3‘s Joe Tipton less than two weeks ago that UCLA, Houston, Oregon, Memphis, Arkansas, Texas, and the G League Ignite were his primary focuses at the time. Kentucky has been mentioned by other outlets, but he also added that UK coaches have reportedly not yet contacted him individually.

Holland has seen a steady rise in his ranking over the last few months, but he doesn’t look to be fully on the Wildcats’ radar as of right now.