Kentucky set to host several high school recruits for Big Blue Madness

Caleb Holt on his Kentucky official visit (Photo: UK Athletics)

An important recruiting weekend awaits the Kentucky men’s basketball program.

Head coach Mark Pope is using Saturday’s Big Blue Madness as a recruiting tool for several talented high school prospects. The annual preseason event usually falls on a Friday, but it was moved to Saturday this year, in part to make it easier for recruits to make the trip out and enjoy the day-long experience. By KSR’s count, at least six high school recruits (ranging from the 2026 to 2028 classes) will be at Rupp Arena for BBM. Two of them will spend the entire weekend in Lexington for official visits.

Here is what you need to know about Saturday’s visitors.

Official Visitors

Jordan Smith Jr. (SG) 6-2, 200 | Paul VI Catholic (Washington, DC)
2026 5-star: No. 3 overall, No. 1 SG

Kentucky made the top six for Jordan Smith Jr. back in August, joining Duke, Arkansas, Georgetown, Indiana, and Syracuse. He’s already taken official visits to both Duke and Arkansas. This trip to Kentucky will be his third OV. Pope coached Smith at Team USA training camp back in the summer. Duke, which rosters a couple of Smith’s former high school teammates, appears to be the team to beat right now, though. He returned to see the Blue Devils for an unofficial visit last weekend. Smith’s recruitment is expected to go into the spring, so there’s plenty of time left for Kentucky to gain some ground — it starts this weekend.

Josh Irving (C) 6-11, 200 | Pasadena (Pasadena, CA)
2026 4-star: No. 68 overall, No. 6 C

Josh Irving is nearing the end of his long official visit tour. Since August, the big man has made trips to San Diego State, SMU, Kansas, Texas A&M, and Louisville. Kentucky will be his sixth OV out of seven total. Irving will head to Southern California next weekend for his final stop. Texas A&M and Louisville continue to come up in intel reports, but there is no clear-cut leader in this race. A decision could come soon after he wraps up his final two visits.

Unofficial Visitors

Caleb Holt (SG) 6-5, 200 | Prolific Prep (Huntsville, AL)
2026 5-star: No. 4 overall, No. 2 SG

This will be a return trip to Lexington for Caleb Holt, who took his official visit to UK last month. Kentucky assistant Jason Hart even went to see Holt in person a few days after he left campus. The top-five prospect has also been on OVs to Arkansas, Alabama, Providence, and Arizona. Auburn was once under consideration, but a trip to The Plains was canceled shortly after Bruce Pearl announced he was stepping down as head coach. That visit was actually scheduled for this weekend, so Holt elected to sneak in another trip to the Bluegrass State instead of sitting at home. Alabama has positioned itself well in this recruitment. It’s highly possible that Tryan Stokes‘ decision impacts where Holt ultimately ends up.

Dawson Battie (PF) 6-8, 190 | Sain Mark’s (Dallas, TX)
2027 4-star: No. 10 overall, No. 3 PF

Kentucky was one of the first schools to reach out to Dawson Battie once the contact period for 2027 recruits opened in June. Assistant coach Mikhail McLean, who has ties to the state of Texas, initiated the contact. Battie has not announced an offer from the Wildcats, but the likes of Texas, Houston, Maryland, SMU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Missouri, LSU, and more have already extended scholarships. Battie’s uncle, Tony Battie, was a former lottery pick and played 14 seasons in the NBA.

Reese Alston (PG) 6-2, 160 | Second Baptist (Houston, TX)
2027 4-star: No. 22 overall, No. 4 PG

Also a Texas product, Reese Alston was another 2027 prospect who quickly heard from Kentucky back in June. McLean is taking the lead on this recruitment, too. Alston, who is the son of former NBA point guard Rafer Alston, recently visited Wichita State and has a trip to Purdue in mind. He announced an LSU offer on Thursday. Houston, Texas A&M, and Texas have also offered him.

Boogie Cook (SF) 6-7, 175 | Christian Academy-Louisville (Louisville, KY)
2028 4-star: No. 45 overall, No. 12 SF

Louisville’s Boogie Cook is the only known 2028 prospect coming to Rupp Arena on Saturday. Kentucky associate head coach Alvin Brooks III is the one in contact with his camp. Cook recently went on an unofficial visit to Ohio State and has announced offers from Indiana, Kansas State, and Virginia Tech. Future trips to Western Kentucky and Auburn have also been reported. This recruitment still has a long way to go. UK is laying the foundation early.

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