Deron Rippey Jr. is taking his official visit to Kentucky this week

Official visit season is moving right along for the Kentucky men’s basketball program.

Deron Rippey Jr. is the latest high-level recruit to make his way to campus. The five-star class of 2026 point guard was scheduled to arrive in Lexington on Sunday night and will spend the next few days getting to know head coach Mark Pope and the entire Wildcat coaching staff a little bit better.

“The pitch for Ron Ron has been great. Coach Pope has been following up, reaching out to him, reaching out to us,” Rippey’s father, Deron Rippey Sr., told Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ on Sunday. “They did a home visit. Coach [Mikhail] McLean and Coach [Jason] Hart are texting every day, reaching out. The message for Ron Ron is to come and be a point guard at Kentucky.“

Rippey is considered the No. 13 overall high school senior in the country by the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was originally scheduled to take this OV back in August, but the trip was pushed back to now. Rippey will have the chance to watch Kentucky’s Pro Day on Tuesday.

NEW: Five-star PG Deron Rippey Jr. is arriving at Kentucky for his official visit shortly.

His father sat down with KSR+ for an interview, previewing the visit. He also talks about Miami, UNC, Texas, Syracuse, Duke, Tennessee, and NC State.

(+): https://t.co/vhbJeozPIp pic.twitter.com/RbgM9o1Be6

— Jacob Polacheck (@PolacheckKSR) October 5, 2025

Rippey cut his list down to 10 finalists back in early September. Those schools were Miami (FL), North Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Syrcause, Kentucky, Duke, Tennessee, Louisville, and NC State. Since August, he’s taken official visits to Miami (FL), North Carolina, Texas, and Syracuse. After his Kentucky visit this week, he’ll head to Duke, Tennessee, and NC State. A previously planned trip to Alabama was recently canceled, while his OV with Louisville took place last fall.

The plan is for Rippey to trim his group of top schools down to just five once he wraps up all of his officials. His last OV will be with NC State the weekend of November 7. A decision could come soon after he narrows down his list.

Rippey will visit Kentucky after spending this past weekend playing in The Border League in Las Vegas. Suiting up for his high school team, Blair Academy (NJ), which is the same school Otega Oweh attended, Rippey helped lead his team to a 2-0 weekend, including wins over Tay Kinney‘s RWE and Tyran Stokes‘ Blue Knights. He finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists on Friday before dropping 21 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals on Saturday.

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