Five-star guard Kennedy Chandler is moving away from his Tennessee high school

Jon Lopez | Nike

One of the Volunteers’ top in-state players is moving elsewhere.

Five-star point guard out of the class of 2021, Kennedy Chandler, announced on Friday that he will transfer from Briarcrest Christain School (TN) to Sunrise Christian Academy, a prep school located in Kansas.

Chandler, who is a native of Memphis, TN, is listed as the 13th overall prospect and No. 1 point guard in the 2021 247Sports Composite Rankings. The staff at Sunrise Christian Academy includes members from his EYBL circuit team, MOKAN Elite, also based out of Kansas.

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After prayer, and deep discussion with family and friends, I am pursuing new challenges to grow as a person. Nonetheless, I would like to both highlight and thank the entire Briarcrest community, including my teachers, teammates, and coaches, which have all contributed to the person and player that I am today. I have enjoyed Briarcrest since the 2nd grade. I will forever be a Saint. As such, I would like to announce that I will be attending Sunrise Christian Academy for my senior year. Thank you and God bless.

Chandler is viewed by many as a Tennessee lean, so him leaving the state to finish his final year of high school ball can’t be bad news for Kentucky and the other schools recruiting heavily him. Teams that are high on Chandler’s radar also include Duke, Memphis, and North Carolina. There is currently no timetable as to when Chandler might announce a commitment.

“He’s making a move to get prepared for the next level,” his father Kylan Chandler said, according to the Memphis Commerical Appeal. “At Sunrise he’ll be playing tough competition day in and day out. He’ll be challenged in practice, day in and day out. It’s just being on a bigger stage and just trying to get better.”

The Kentucky coaching staff has been in constant contact with Chandler over the last few months and they even paid him a virtual visit this past week. Here is what he told KSR back in March about the unofficial visit he took to Lexington shortly before:

“I had a great time when I went down there,” Chandler told KSR. “It was my second time for me going [to Lexington], I went last year when Kentucky played Tennessee. Me going again, I just had a really fun time down there and it was a great game. … [Kentucky] feels like I’m a good fit in a solid program. They feel the way they play is the style of basketball I play.”

Come on down, young fella.