4-Star Wide Receiver Kenny Darby Commits to Kentucky

Do you feel that? It’s the first big recruiting move by new Kentucky head coach Will Stein, and it’s registering on the Richter Scale.

Two days ago, Kenny Darby was committed to LSU. Today, the Louisiana native is signing with the Kentucky Wildcats.

“The biggest reason is I picked Kentucky because I wanna start my own trend,” Darby told Rivals of his decision on Friday. “I wanna be a part of something big. Obviously, they have a new coaching staff and I wanna be a part of that with Coach (Joe) Sloan.”

[UPDATE: Darby has officially signed with the Cats.]

Darby is a prolific pass-catcher from the state of Louisiana. He initially committed to Mississippi State during the summer before his junior season. That fall, his recruitment blew up when the Bossier City (La.) Airline wide receiver caught 100 passes for 1,754 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Near the end of his 2024 season, Darby received an LSU offer. Within days, he dropped State and made a pledge to his home state school.

When Louisiana native LD Washington was added to Mark Stoops’ staff, the Kentucky wide receivers coach extended a scholarship offer. It’s unclear how much traction the Cats made, if at all, but there was some sort of relationship established.

While he was committed to LSU, he cultivated a strong relationship with offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. We learned on Thursday that Sloan is expected to be Will Stein’s offensive coordinator. That connection was vital throughout the process, allowing Kentucky to lie in the shadows before making this seismic move.

Jeff Lebby tried to get Darby back in the fold. Deion Sanders held a Zoom call with Darby on Wednesday night. That appeared to give Colorado momentum, but Kentucky is the school that made the big move to get Darby to sign on the dotted line.

A four-star wide receiver, Darby is the No. 188 overall prospect and the sixth-ranked player from the state of Louisiana, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings. He’s now the highest-ranked player in Kentucky’s 2026 recruiting class. Will Stein needs studs to feed, and Kentucky got one in the eleventh hour of Stein’s first Early Signing Period.

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Kentucky 2026 Recruiting Class

Player	Position	High School	Ranking
Kenny Darby	WR (6-0, 175)	Bossier City (La.) Airline	4-Star (No. 188 overall)
Matt Ponatoski	QB (6-2, 190)	Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller	4-star (No. 226 overall)
Messiah Tilson	S (6-2, 165)	Rockford (Ill.) Guilford	4-star (No. 346 overall)
Denairius Gray	WR (6-1, 170)	Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna	High 3-star (No. 522 overall)
Dallas Dickerson	WR (6-1, 180)	Bogart (Ga.) North Oconee	High 3-star (No. 589 overall)
Lincoln Watkins	TE (6-4, 225)	Port Huron (Mich.) Northern	3-star (No. 609 overall)
Ben Duncum	DL (6-5, 250)	Austin (Texas) Lake Travis	3-star (No. 748 overall)
Isaiah McMillian	CB (6-0, 170)	Katy (Texas) High	3-star (No. 943 overall)
Justyn Hartley	LB/EDGE (6-2, 215)	Hoover (Ala.) High	3-star (No. 953 overall)
Prince Jean	WR (6-0, 170)	Valdosta (Ga) High	3-star (No. 1,049 overall)
Cameron Miller	T (6-5, 310)	Hammond (Ind.) Morton	3-star (No. 1,072) overall)
Davis McCray	WR (6-2, 190)	San Antonio (Texas) Cornerstone Christian	3-star (No. 1,295 overall)
Delvecchio “Deuce” Alston II	RB (6-0, 200)	Trussville (Ala.) Hewitt-Trussville	3-star (No. 1,421 overall)
Jordan Knox	IOL (6-3, 310)	Rock Hill (SC)	JUCO
Braxton Urquhart	CB (6-2, 200)	Hoover (Ala.)	JUCO