Top-ranked 2026 center Arafan Diane down to five finalists

Kentucky has made the final list cut for the nation’s top-ranked 2026 center.

According to On3’s Joe Tipton, seven-footer Arafan Diane is now down to just five finalists. Kentucky was among the group, which also includes Houston, Arkansas, Indiana, and Virginia. Ranked as the No. 9 overall high school senior in his class by Rivals, Diane has official visits locked in with all five schools. He’ll visit the Wildcats first, a trip that was recently bumped up by two weeks. Below are his scheduled OVs.

• Kentucky: September 12–14
• Arkansas: September 19–21
• Virginia: September 26–28
• Indiana: October 17–19
• Houston: October 24–26

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope was in to see the native of Guinea earlier this week. Diane was previously considering the likes of Georgia Tech, Kansas, Louisville, Oregon, Purdue, UConn, and Washington.

NEWS: 2026 Top-10 overall recruit Arafan Diane is down to five schools, source tells @Rivals.

The 7-foot big man is the No. 1 ranked center in the country. He has official visits set to each of his finalists: https://t.co/zl8rRw86g9 pic.twitter.com/K4RNe5rr2s

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) September 5, 2025

Diane earned an offer from Kentucky in mid-July after a solid performance with Iowa United on the adidas 3SSB Circuit. Diane will be coached in high school by Pope‘s brother-in-law, Damon Archibald, at Iowa United Prep this fall. He averaged a double-double across five games played at the 3SSB Championships over the summer: 21.6 points, 13 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.8 blocks per outing.

After completing his official visits, Diane is expected to commit on his birthday, Nov. 9. Kentucky is right in the thick of the race.

Want more Kentucky basketball intel? Join KSR Plus for access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.