I have been looking at the top 25 prospects in the 2026 class and I saw we were in the running for Arenas (Gilbert's son I assume) and he committed to USC. With that being said, what can anyone tell me about who we are targeting in 2026 out of high school and what our chances are to land some high profile and talented high schoolers?
2026 High School Prospects and Potential Prospects We are Targeting
- Thread starter Dalroxas
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I honestly hope we don't go after too many high profile kids from high school. Land some solid 3-4 year guys that can be developed and don't expect to start from Day One. If you need an immediate starter at a given position, grab someone from the portal. I'm so over these high school prima donnas who think the world revolves around them. Freshmen straight out of high school no longer run the show in college basketball. Some of them just haven't realized that new reality yet.
I did more digging and we are all 40 to 50 percent on like 4 of the top 10. On the Ariza kid it showed we were like 100 percent on him.
Stokes and Kinney are all I even want them to pursue. We are looking at a really deep roster right now because 4 are from Ky.
Stokes was one of the ones the crystal ball had where Kentucky had like a 40 percent chance to land him.
We've offered about all of the top 10 guys in the '26 class plus Anthony Thompson and Tay Kinney.
I still think high schoolers are Pope's top recruiting priority.
I still think high schoolers are Pope's top recruiting priority.
We have a real shot at some of the top kids in the class. Stokes we all know about. But Tajh Ariza. Jordan Smith. Tony Bryant. Caleb Holt. Anthony Thompson. And I think Taylen Kinney and Miikka Muurinen is ours. I LOVE Miikka. He’s a big 6’10 stretch 4 and we know about Kinney. Then I think we could get Smith. Plus some of these guys will fall and 25 guys we haven’t heard much of will become top tier recruits. Hopefully we have Lowe. Transfer shooter. Kam. Jelevic and Moreno starting with Kinney. Chandler. Freshman. Diabante. Miikka. Garrison. Transfer Perry. Noah
Wow. I feel old af. Brandon Bass Jr ?!?!?!?! lol. Yes. And btw. Big baby Davis is in prison lol. Swear to god. Look it up.
I think he’s a UL fan or his family is. Also he’s supposedly re-classifying too so we are unlikely to land him.
For me, just wait the portal season ends, and then I can turn to focus to HS recruiting
Anthony Thompson and Tay Kinney are most possible commits for us.
Others are not very likely for us as of now.
We're in good shape with 6'5" G/F Caleb Holt and also 6'3" lead guard Jason Crowe.
I think the staff continues to follow the trend of going lighter in the high school class, land a Kentucky native or two, and pursue one or two in the top 10, and then go heavy in the portal. Holt is strong enough to play small forward and he's talented enough to be a day-one replacement for Oweh. Thompson is a 6'8" swiss army knife who lives only 2 hours from the Lexington campus.
I really want us to land Holt, Thompson, and Kinney. Holt is a day-one game changer, and Kinney/Thompson look like solid long term guys.
Gut feeling, Holt more looks like a Auburn/Baylor type player...
Thompson will be OAD player, 6-8 athletic shooter, Will be top 10 player when hs career ends
Kinney is solid 2-3 years guy.
Not sure if Crowe wants to leave west coast. We have not had a west coast player for a long time.
Guys we have offered in the 2026 class:
(https://247sports.com/college/kentucky/season/2026-basketball/offers/)
Brandon McCoy – 6'4 / 185 (PG)
There are rumors that he and Jordan Smith will be a package deal to Duke. It’s also likely he stays on the West Coast to be an OAD star.
Jason Crowe Jr. – 6'3/ 170 (PG)
Not sure if he’ll leave the West Coast. If he does, we’ll probably get him. But my safe bet is that he stays home and commits to a school like USC to be an OAD star.
Taylen Kinney – 6'1 / 185 (PG)
An in-state prospect. Aside from being a bit short, he has almost no flaws in his game. A winning player and probably the most gettable recruit in this class.
Jordan Smith – 6'2 / 200 (SG)
A strong, athletic combo guard and a proven winner. Hate that he’s almost certainly going to Duke. He attends Paul VI Catholic, a school that has produced a lot of Duke players.
Ikenna Alozie – 6'2 / 185 (CG)
Strong, explosive guard. I think he’ll stay on the West Coast, likely ending up at Arizona or Arizona State.
Tajh Ariza – 6'8 / 180 (SF)
Similar to Arenas. Probably stays on the West Coast to be an OAD star.
Caleb Holt – 6'5 / 200 (SF)
Strong, athletic wing. Looks like a more talented version of Oweh. I think Auburn or Baylor will land him. Baylor seems like the safest bet, they’ve had a lot of OAD wings recently.
Anthony Thompson – 6'8 / 185 (SF)
A late bloomer. Tall, athletic shooter. Besides Kinney, he’s the most gettable player for us. He has made two unofficial visits since Pope became head coach, which is a great sign. No doubt he’ll be an OAD player.
Tyran Stokes – 6'7/ 245 (PF)
I think he ends up at Louisville or BYU.
Miikka Muurinen – 6'10 / 185 (PF)
Underperformed this high school season. I’m not very impressed with his game. Plus, assuming only JQ leaves, we’ll be loaded in the frontcourt again for the 2026–27 season.
As long as we get Kinney and Thompson, I will be very happy. These two can be great contributors from day 1.
(https://247sports.com/college/kentucky/season/2026-basketball/offers/)
Brandon McCoy – 6'4 / 185 (PG)
There are rumors that he and Jordan Smith will be a package deal to Duke. It’s also likely he stays on the West Coast to be an OAD star.
Jason Crowe Jr. – 6'3/ 170 (PG)
Not sure if he’ll leave the West Coast. If he does, we’ll probably get him. But my safe bet is that he stays home and commits to a school like USC to be an OAD star.
Taylen Kinney – 6'1 / 185 (PG)
An in-state prospect. Aside from being a bit short, he has almost no flaws in his game. A winning player and probably the most gettable recruit in this class.
Jordan Smith – 6'2 / 200 (SG)
A strong, athletic combo guard and a proven winner. Hate that he’s almost certainly going to Duke. He attends Paul VI Catholic, a school that has produced a lot of Duke players.
Ikenna Alozie – 6'2 / 185 (CG)
Strong, explosive guard. I think he’ll stay on the West Coast, likely ending up at Arizona or Arizona State.
Tajh Ariza – 6'8 / 180 (SF)
Similar to Arenas. Probably stays on the West Coast to be an OAD star.
Caleb Holt – 6'5 / 200 (SF)
Strong, athletic wing. Looks like a more talented version of Oweh. I think Auburn or Baylor will land him. Baylor seems like the safest bet, they’ve had a lot of OAD wings recently.
Anthony Thompson – 6'8 / 185 (SF)
A late bloomer. Tall, athletic shooter. Besides Kinney, he’s the most gettable player for us. He has made two unofficial visits since Pope became head coach, which is a great sign. No doubt he’ll be an OAD player.
Tyran Stokes – 6'7/ 245 (PF)
I think he ends up at Louisville or BYU.
Miikka Muurinen – 6'10 / 185 (PF)
Underperformed this high school season. I’m not very impressed with his game. Plus, assuming only JQ leaves, we’ll be loaded in the frontcourt again for the 2026–27 season.
As long as we get Kinney and Thompson, I will be very happy. These two can be great contributors from day 1.
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Also, when it comes to high school recruiting, I think we should focus more on landing high-quality wings and bigs, especially bigs. That’s because it’s much easier to find talented guards in the transfer portal. In contrast, elite wings and big men, especially centers, are much harder to come by.
Most of the really good ones end up staying at their original schools, because coaches will do everything they can to keep them. Guys like Clingan and Edey have stayed at one school their entire careers, elite bigs are rare, and teams know it.
Pope’s system needs bigs who can pass, rebound, and defend. But those kinds of bigs are extremely rare. If a player can do all that, why would he be in the portal instead of going straight to the NBA? So the most realistic way to get that type of big is to develop one yourself. That’s why it’s so important to recruit high school bigs who have the potential to grow into that role. Moreno is a good start.
I’m not optimistic about the 2026 class because, so far, there aren’t any particularly promising big men prospect in that class (though that could change depending on performances in the upcoming summer events).
Most of the really good ones end up staying at their original schools, because coaches will do everything they can to keep them. Guys like Clingan and Edey have stayed at one school their entire careers, elite bigs are rare, and teams know it.
Pope’s system needs bigs who can pass, rebound, and defend. But those kinds of bigs are extremely rare. If a player can do all that, why would he be in the portal instead of going straight to the NBA? So the most realistic way to get that type of big is to develop one yourself. That’s why it’s so important to recruit high school bigs who have the potential to grow into that role. Moreno is a good start.
I’m not optimistic about the 2026 class because, so far, there aren’t any particularly promising big men prospect in that class (though that could change depending on performances in the upcoming summer events).
Stokes is not 185 or 6'10. He's about 6'7 and every bit of 230. He is one of the few players I saw give Flagg the business on the offensive end.
With all the Jr's we signed in the portal, our 2 freshmen coming in, the other 3 sophomores to be we have this year, we will not have room to sign too many high school / portal guys. Once you get a solid 7/8 man roster coming back, you can be VERY selective in both recruiting and portal. JJ, Moreno, Williams, Chandler, Garrison, Noah, Perry, Dioubate, and Jelavic, IF all come back for 26/27, that is 9. Even if we lose 2 of those, that is still 7. Maybe 3 high schoolers and 3 VERY selective stud portal signings for positions of need. Hopefully the days of having to add 8/9 kids to build the roster are game. Which is why it is very important to sign younger guys in the portal that have multiple years left, and not a bunch of 1 year "hired guns".
I agree with this. Obviously not as explosive but a very similar game.
I haven't watched Stokes enough, so I'm not disagreeing with you. Just pointing out that in my opinion if you take away the explosive athleticism then I'm not sure it's that flattering to have your game compared to Zion Williamson. Williamson could handle ok and the rest of the game was just sheer size combined with athleticism maybe never seen at that size (even made Charles Barkley say "What the he**"). Who could stop him in college from getting wherever he wanted, or for that matter in the NBA if he could have stayed healthy (which I never thought was very likely)?
Zion is a smart basketball player. He is a point forward and makes good plays with the ball in his hand. Stokes plays a lot of point forward for his current high school. He's also a really good decision maker with the ball in his hands. If he is anywhere near the paint he is going to try and punish you. Against Flagg's squad last season he scored almost every time he got the ball in the paint area and it didn't matter who was guarding him. It was nice to see him this season in a different role running the show a little more.
I don’t think we will take more than 3 HS kids. Maybe just 1 or 2.
I think we will lose four guys most likely (Oweh and Wilkerson- if we get him- will graduate, Johnson and Quaintance probably go pro). We will add two from the portal and two HS kids, IMHO. I think the HS kids are likely developmental guys.
Most of our rotation guys for 26-27 are already on the team right now. That is, if we can keep them out of the portal.
I think we will lose four guys most likely (Oweh and Wilkerson- if we get him- will graduate, Johnson and Quaintance probably go pro). We will add two from the portal and two HS kids, IMHO. I think the HS kids are likely developmental guys.
Most of our rotation guys for 26-27 are already on the team right now. That is, if we can keep them out of the portal.
Yeah big baby got 3 and half years for defrauding the NBA Healthcare plan led by Three Finger T-Will.
Pope looks to be wanting to replace his Seniors next year (Oweh and Aberdeen) with elite HS recruits.
Solid strategy. Replace the guys you know are leaving with elite talent ready to contribute.
Then use the portal to replace the guys who leave via portal or draft.
Pope should be able to entice a couple of elite level guards/wings to come here and take over those roles.
If not, you get a couple of guys in the portal.
So, most likely we will have two Freshmen in the rotation.
Maybe we add 1-2 more Freshmen development pieces, if Pope finds some guys worth the long term investment.
Solid strategy. Replace the guys you know are leaving with elite talent ready to contribute.
Then use the portal to replace the guys who leave via portal or draft.
Pope should be able to entice a couple of elite level guards/wings to come here and take over those roles.
If not, you get a couple of guys in the portal.
So, most likely we will have two Freshmen in the rotation.
Maybe we add 1-2 more Freshmen development pieces, if Pope finds some guys worth the long term investment.
I have come to a similar conclusion. It seems the staff is recruiting like they really want a 5 star for next year and are casting a wide net to find the right one(s).
It seems like Pope is very eager to land at least one freshman OND star in the 2026 high school class. While it's not absolutely necessary to win games with OND talents, I think Pope is more focused on proving that he can recruit those kinds of players, and then not only develop them into high draft picks, but also lead the team deep into the tournament.
I think that's the right approach. In a way, expanding your recruiting channels and having more options increases the margin for error when building a roster.
When you can recruit both elite high school prospects and top-tier transfers, you have much more flexibility in building your roster.
Pope will try to add two HS recruits to replace Oweh and Aberdeen.
The other 10 could return. If any leave, they will be replaced with portal guys most likely.
G Lowe/Recruit
G Johnson/Chandler
F Williams/Recruit/Noah
F Dioubate/Jelavic
F Quaintance/Garrison/Moreno
IMHO, Quaintance is the least likely to return, but with Moreno we have a replacement on the roster.
I figure we will be targeting a big man and a guard/wing in the portal.
I would be surprised if we need more than 2-3 portal guys next season. 4 tops.