Thursday night Kentucky basketball recruiting notes
Kentucky men’s basketball is focusing on gearing up for No. 4 Tennessee on Saturday and then the SEC Tournament next week, but the last few days have been newsy ones for the Wildcats in the world of high school recruiting.
From multiple visitors on Senior Night against Vanderbilt, a top 10 list, a fresh RPM pick, and more, there’s plenty going on right now as the postseason quickly approaches. Let’s unpack it all in a quick Thursday night recruiting roundup.
But first, a quick word from our sponsor.
Thank you to today’s sponsor, our friend Andy Luedecke at MyPerfectFranchise. Andy is a huge college sports fan and franchise veteran, having owned multiple franchises and businesses. Using his expertise, he helps others find their American Dream through a very thorough consultation and evaluation process.
If you are wanting to find a way out of corporate America, wanting a side-hustle business, or a way to diversify…..reach out to Andy, as he’s got a ton of knowledge in this world and best of all, his services are 100% free to you – always! After you finish this post, you can learn more or reach Andy at [email protected].
Three visitors on Wednesday night (and one RPM pick)
Darryn Peterson
A trio of visitors were in Rupp Arena last night to check out Kentucky’s 93-77 Senior Night victory over Vanderbilt. The main one was class of 2025 five-star shooting guard Darryn Peterson, who is ranked as the No. 3 overall junior in the country by the On3 Industry Ranking. Peterson was on an official visit to UK and sat right behind the Wildcats’ bench.
Baylor, Indiana, Kansas, Arkansas, Michigan, North Carolina, and Ohio State are also involved with the Huntington Prep (WV) product. He also visited Kentucky back in the fall for Big Blue Madness and has been a priority for John Calipari since his sophomore season. Signing a NIL deal with Adidas has raised some questions, but Kentucky did receive his first official visit.
Joson Sanon
Shortly before tipoff between Kentucky-Vanderbilt, KSR’s Jack Pilgrim broke the news that top 15 class of 2025 shooting guard Joson Sanon made a surprise trip to Rupp for an unofficial visit where he also sat behind UK’s bench. Sanon’s visit came on the heels of a quick pitstop to Louisville the same day.
Sanon, who plays for Vermont Academy, recently dropped a top 10 list that includes Kentucky, Arizona, Boston College, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Providence, and Overtime Elite. The 6-foot-5 recruit on the rise hasn’t been offered by the ‘Cats just yet, but with a likely reclass to 2024 on the table, that could change soon. Sanon turned 18 back in December. If an offer does come in, consider Kentucky a legitimate factor in this recruitment.
Malachi Moreno
Hailing from nearby Great Crossing in Georgetown, 7-foot junior Malachi Moreno was once again inside Rupp Arena to watch the ‘Cats. And although he wasn’t behind the bench, this was at least the fourth time this season that Moreno (No. 32 in 2025 per the On3 Industry Ranking) has been in attendance for a Kentucky game.
After Kentucky offered Moreno in the fall, the ‘Cats have been trending as the favorites. I was confident enough last night about UK’s position that I went ahead and logged an RPM pick in favor of John Calipari’s team with 60 percent confidence. The likes of Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Arkansas, Tennessee, and several others have all offered, but Kentucky is in a great spot as of early March.
Trio of talented Kentucky natives in the 2026 class
Earlier this week, On3 updated its class of 2026 player rankings, expanding the field from a Top 50 to a Top 150. A trio of Bluegrass natives made the cut, two of them earning four-star status.
Trinity’s Jayden Johnson (No. 46 overall), Washington County’s Gabe Weis (No. 67), and Newport’s Tay Kinney (No. 103) were all included. John Calipari doesn’t typically offer sophomores (Darryn Peterson is actually the first and only to achieve that), so none of them have scholarships in hand, but all three are hearing from members of the Kentucky staff.
Johnson, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard originally from Bowling Green, has been on UK’s radar since he was a freshman. In 31 games played as a sophomore for No. 9 Trinity, he’s averaged 12.2 points and five rebounds per outing while shooting 44.9 percent overall and 40.5 percent from deep. Johnson has unofficially visited UK in the past. He holds offers from the likes of Indiana, Xavier, Ohio State, Missouri, and others.
Weis, a 6-foot-7 power forward, has been hearing from Kentucky since the fall and even visited for Big Blue Madness (as did Johnson). Weis grew up a fan of the Wildcats and holds offers from the likes of Indiana, Louisville, Penn State, LSU, Texas A&M, and more. Although he played just 18 games for Washington County as a sophomore, he still averaged 13.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest while shooting 57.5 percent overall.
Kinney, a 6-foot point guard up in northern Kentucky, holds scholarships from Cincinnati, Louisville, Purdue, Ohio State, and Notre Dame, among others. After an impressive summer on the AAU circuit, he’s seen his recruitment bloom. Assistant coach Orlando Antigua has been the one in talks with Kinney, with conversations dating back to the fall. Like Johnson and Weis, Kinney was at Rupp Arena for Big Blue Madness. In 30 games played for No. 3 Newport, he’s averaged 18.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on shooting splits of 48.4/41.8/82.9.
Will Riley’s Top 10
Kentucky has yet to offer top 20 class of 2025 prospect Will Riley, but he’s clearly on the Wildcats’ radar. The 6-foot-8 wing announced a list of 10 finalists earlier today, including Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Alabama, Michigan, Villanova, and UCLA along with pro options G-League-Ignite, NBL, and London Lions.
According to On3’s Jamie Shaw, three schools to focus on right now in Riley’s recruitment are Arizona, Kentucky, and Duke. Riley took an official visit to Arizona last week, but neither UK or Duke have officially offered. The Canadian native is apparently being trained by the same folks who also trained Shaedon Sharpe and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during their high school recruitments. Of course, both Sharpe and SGA landed at UK — although Sharpe’s time in Lexington was surrounded by controversy because of said trainers, Dwayne Washington chief among them.
A reclass to 2024 is on the table for Riley. He hopes to visit the likes of Kentucky, Duke, UCLA, and Villanova. If he does wind up making a trip to UK, don’t be shocked if he leaves with an offer.
Target to watch: Aliou Dioum
6-foot-10 sophomore Aliou Dioum snuck into On3’s 2026 player rankings update, landing at No. 50. Suiting up for Denver (CO) Accelerated Prep, Dioum only holds a pair of Power 5 offers from Georgia and Georgia Tech, which he picked in December. However, according to Recruits Zone, Kentucky and Colorado have recently reached out with interest in the native of Senegal.
Dioum has been rising up the recruiting ranks thanks to his impressive play on The Grind Session, particularly over the last couple of months. Dioum and Accelerated Prep took on the likes of Prolific Prep and SFBA Trinity Prep in February. Most notably, he dropped 27 points, 19 rebounds, and five blocks against Trinity Prep.
It might be a while before Kentucky seriously considers offering Dioum, but he’s a name to remember moving forward.
Learn more about Andy Luedecke and franchise ownership through these resources:
Andy’s Story
Why a Franchise
Service Based vs Brick and Mortar
Semi Absentee Ownership
The Process and How It works
Book time with Andy: Andy’s Calendar
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard