Kentucky extends offer to 4-star 2026 center Arafan Diane

The top-ranked center in the 2026 recruiting class just picked up an offer from Kentucky.

On Wednesday night, four-star center Arafan Diane announced on social media that he’s received a scholarship from the Wildcats. Clocking in at 6-foot-11, 280 pounds, the native of West Africa is considered the No. 1 overall big man among rising high school seniors and the No. 21 overall recruit per the Rivals Industry Ranking.

Diane was among the best players in action last week at the adidas 3SSB Championships in Rock Hill, SC. Suiting up for Iowa United — which is coached by Mark Pope‘s brother-in-law, Damon Archibald — he averaged a double-double across five games played: 21.6 points, 13 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.8 blocks per outing. Diane had four contests with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds while also showing off the ability to shoot from deep.

Blessed to receive an offer from @KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/ytPixFJjdo

— Arafan Diane (@DianeArafan1) July 16, 2025

Pope and a couple of his assistants made the trip to the adidas Championships last week, where they watched several recruiting targets from Thursday through Sunday for the first live period of July. Diane had plenty of college coaches paying close attention to him. Kentucky made sure to watch a couple of his games, and apparently left impressed enough to formally offer him.

“Arafan Diane is very loudly claiming his spot toward the top of his position list in the 2026 class,” Rivals’ Jamie Shaw, who called Diane one of the top performers in Rock Hill, wrote on Sunday. “Diane is a 7-foot-0 center playing for Iowa Prep United. He is very offensively skilled, able to score consistently over both shoulders, make reads out of the post, and utilized balance and footwork when his initial move was cut off. A big who plays big is always intriguing, but one who can take space and create an advantage becomes unique.”

Currently playing high school basketball at Iowa United Prep (IA), Diane has already hauled in scholarships from the likes of Louisville, Oregon, Texas Tech, Florida, Houston, Arkansas, Illinois, Arizona, Texas, Indiana, UConn, Kansas, BYU, and Michigan, among others. He’s looking to take official visits in September and October. Expect Kentucky to be among the schools he checks out in the fall.

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