Jasper Johnson cuts list to 10, schedules official visit to Kentucky
Jasper Johnson, a Lexington native who now plays for national powerhouse Link Academy (MO), is beginning to wind down his recruitment.
On Thursday afternoon, On3’s Joe Tipton revealed that Johnson has cut his list of schools down to 10. Johnson has also scheduled a trio of upcoming official visits. Kentucky was included in both.
According to Tipton, Johnson, who is ranked No. 12 overall in the class of 2025 by the On3 Industry Ranking, is down to the likes of UK, Kansas, Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Missouri, Louisville, North Carolina, Southern California, and West Virginia. He’ll take official visits next month to UNC (Feb. 3), Kentucky (Feb. 10), and Auburn (Feb. 17). Tipton also reports that a visit to Baylor is a “strong possibility.”
So far, Johnson has taken just two official visits to West Virginia (Sept. 2023) and Missouri (Nov. 2023). However, he’s gone on several unofficial visits to the likes of Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Xavier, and Louisville over the years. The Wildcats have stood out for a while.
“Coach Orlando (Antigua) reaches out to me probably every day,” Johnson told On3 in December. “He wants me to come back home for my college season. They’re planning for me to be there for 9 months and then off to the NBA and that’s what I really want to do in college. I feel like if that’s the best option then it could be there, but if it’s somewhere else, then it could be somewhere else.
“(Coach Calipari) is definitely a good coach. I see how they’re playing multiple guards this year and how they’re making it work.”
Johnson began his high school basketball career at Woodford County in nearby Versailles, KY. He transferred to Link Academy during the offseason once his status as a potential five-star recruit began to blossom. Johnson recently returned home earlier this month for a game against Huntington Prep (WV) that honored his late grandfather, Alvis Johnson.
With John Calipari (and roughly half of the current Kentucky team) and a handful of other college coaches in attendance, Johnson rained down 10 three-pointers en route to scoring 37 points as Link Academy took down Huntington Prep and five-star ’25 shooting guard Darryn Peterson with ease, 90-52.
In just a few weeks, Johnson will come back home one more time for his official visit to UK. Kentucky is set to host Gonzaga on Feb. 10 when Johnson is in town.
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