4-star PG Cayden Boozer hoping to hear from new Kentucky staff

Cayden Boozer, a 6-foot-3 point guard from the class of 2025, was being heavily recruited to Kentucky under former head coach John Calipari. Alongside his twin brother, 6-foot-9 power forward Cameron Boozer, the two even took an official visit to Lexington back in September.

But once Calipari accepted the Arkansas job and was replaced at Kentucky by Mark Pope, the Boozer twins’ connection to the Wildcats took a significant hit. Although it’s only been a couple of weeks since that transition from Calipari to Pope, Cayden has already heard from the Razorbacks’ new head coach a handful of times.

Notably, Pope and his new staff have not reached out to Boozer, who told KSR on Friday that he’s hopeful they do at some point.

“I haven’t heard from (the Kentucky) staff yet. Obviously, I know they’re still adjusting so maybe I’ll get a call soon but as of right now, I haven’t gotten anything from them,” Boozer said in Memphis at the first Nike EYBL session of the season. “Hopefully they do, but if they don’t it’s okay too.”

Boozer says that the likes of Duke, Miami (FL), Florida, North Carolina, and now Arkansas have been recruiting him the most. Alabama is also trying to wiggle its way into the mix, but no future visits are scheduled at this time. He certainly sounds receptive to the idea of Pope and Kentucky trying to join the race, too.

“I would listen to whatever they have to pitch,” Boozer said of Pope and his staff.

Even without Calipari running the show in Lexington — which he has for the last 15 years — it doesn’t change how Cayden Boozer views the program as a whole. While being recruited by Pope would certainly be different than the pitch from Calipari, it doesn’t change the fact that Kentucky has a long history of success with plenty of national championships as proof.

“It doesn’t really change my perspective,” Boozer said of Kentucky. “I know Kentucky is still a winning program. They’ve won a lot. If the new coaches pitch anything I’m gonna take that as a new experience. It’s a different staff, so it’s gonna be a different experience with that coach. So I’ll have to see if they reach out.”

In the meantime, Boozer will continue to let his AAU season play out. The EYBL schedule stretches until early July, capped off with the annual Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, SC. After that wraps up, a commitment could come before the fall and the start of his senior year.

There will be plenty of time for Pope and his staff to make a push for both Cayden and Cameron if they decide to.

“I’m gonna play this EYBL season, see if any new schools reach out to me,” Boozer said. “and if something happens after the EYBL season, I’ll cut down my list and try to commit before the next high school season starts.”