Kentucky assistant coach spending Wednesday morning in California visiting top recruits

by: Zack Geoghegan5 hours agoZGeogheganKSR

Jason Hart at Kentucky practice - Chet White, UK Athletics

Kentucky men’s basketball assistant coach Jason Hart has plenty of ties out west. He’s putting them to use this week.

According to On3’s Jamie Shaw, Hart is spending his Wednesday morning at Prolific Prep (CA) to check out a trio of the Wildcats’ top recruiting targets. Most notably, Hart will see five-star 2026 shooting guard Caleb Holt, who is ranked No. 4 overall in the country and spent this past weekend in Lexington for his official visit to UK. Holt is also considering the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, and Houston, among others.

But Hart isn’t just there to check in on Holt. Prolific Prep rosters a handful of the nation’s top high school talents. Wing Bruce Branch III and point guard Nasir Anderson are two of Kentucky’s top targets in 2027, and Hart will be there to visit them, too. Branch, who is reportedly considering a reclassification to 2026, is ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in his class, while Anderson is slotted at No. 7 overall.

Kentucky’s Jason Hart will be by @ProlificPrep this morning to see Caleb Holt, Bruce Branch III & Nasir Anderson, source tells @rivals

Holt officially visited Kentucky last weekend

Holt: https://t.co/1q8JCh7JAd

Branch: https://t.co/YpglUiyLmn

Anderson: https://t.co/2iOVXHNgxg pic.twitter.com/B6l7f8FrDx
— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) September 10, 2025

Holt has upcoming official visits with Alabama (Sept. 12) and Auburn (Oct. 10). A new report from Travis Branham of 247Sports suggests that Kentucky is behind a few schools in the race for the 6-foot-5 guard, but Hart is keeping the pressure on. Over the summer, Holt won a gold medal with USA Basketball and led Game Elite to the adidas 3SSB Palmetto Cup Championship, where he was named MVP.

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However, we’ve discussed Holt extensively over the last several months. Branch and Anderson are a bit more unknown at this early stage in their recruiting processes. Neither has publicly announced a scholarship offer from Kentucky, but it’s clear they’re on the staff’s Big Board.

Branch is one to keep a close eye on, especially if he ends up reclassifying to 2026. The 6-foot-7 wing is currently considered by Rivals as the fourth-best high school player in the country, regardless of class. Kentucky assistant coach Cody Fueger has been in his ear “almost every day”. So far, Branch has taken unofficial visits to Arizona State and Arizona.

As for Anderson, the 6-foot-1 lead guard jumped onto the scene this past summer, earning over a dozen high-major offers once the contact period opened on June 15. He’s hearing regularly from Kentucky assistant coach Mikhail McLean. North Carolina, Alabama, Maryland, Georgia, and Georgia Tech are among the schools that have already extended him offers.