5-star SF Anthony Thompson will take his official visit to Kentucky this week

Another highly-ranked high school prospect will spend a few days in Lexington.

Coming to town this time is Anthony Thompson, a five-star recruit out of Ohio who is rated No. 6 overall in the 2026 class by the Rivals Industry Ranking. Thompson is scheduled to take his official visit to Kentucky from Wednesday through Friday. The 6-foot-8 wing, who boasts a 7-foot-2 wingspan, has already made stops at North Carolina, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, and Texas for OVs since August.

Thompson is officially down to seven schools, which include the ones mentioned above, as well as the Wildcats. The lone program in that group not expected to receive a visit is Purdue. Kentucky is currently the last OV on Thompson’s schedule, with a decision coming as soon as October or November.

This won’t be the first trip to Lexington for Thompson, who has already been to Rupp Arena a couple of times over the last year. It was actually his visit to Big Blue Madness last fall that saw him receive an offer from the Kentucky coaching staff. Head coach Mark Pope and assistant coach Cody Fueger have constantly been in his ear ever since. Thompson also witnessed UK beat eventual national champion Florida in January.

There does not appear to be an obvious frontrunner in this recruitment, but reported intel suggests Kentucky coaches might have some ground to make up once they get him on campus. Ohio State, Indiana, and Michigan are the schools mentioned more often than not, with North Carolina also in the mix.

But a positive stay in Lexington could shift things in the ‘Cats favor as he heads down the final stretch of his recruitment. UK also just ramped up preseason practice this week — Thompson will get a close look at how Pope operates.

“Obviously, they play through bigs a lot,” Thompson told KSR in July about Kentucky’s play style. “It helps a lot their perimeter guys, so they’ve been pitching to me kind of a Jaxson Robinson, Koby Brea type of player like they were last year.”

Thompson is tall and long enough to play as a big man in a small-ball lineup, but also skilled enough to stretch the floor as a super-sized two-guard. Most schools, Kentucky included, are recruiting him as a wing, someone who can play inside and out. He prefers to be on the perimeter, but embraces the opportunity to work in the paint.

“The intrigue with Thompson stems from the intersection of skill already in place, with considerable upside to continue growing into,” Rivals’ Jamie Shaw recently said of Thompson’s game. “The long-armed 6-foot-7 wing shot 38.7 percent from three on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit this summer, on 5.5 attempts per game. He averaged 22.1 points with his Indiana Elite team and scored an efficient 1.237 points per possession. In 12 July games on the 3SSB Circuit, Thompson went to 20 or more in eight games and 30 or more in four. His scoring arsenal is become more than just a shooting threat.”

It should be noted that Thompson is signed with adidas through the end of his high school career and, as mentioned by Shaw in the above quote, spent his summer suiting up for Indiana Elite on the 3SSB circuit. Kentucky is a Nike school, but that didn’t prevent the Wildcats from landing Malachi Moreno, who also played for Indiana Elite. Moreno had the in-state connection, though — will Pope and Co. be able to overcome the adidas angle with Thompson?

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