Kentucky’s recruiting board just got a little more interesting with the arrival of Reese Alston in Lexington.
The top-10 point guard and one of the premier guards in the class wrapped up an official visit with the Wildcats, adding another stop to a recruiting tour that is starting to take shape. Kentucky has already welcomed other elite targets such as Lewis Uvwo and Paul Osaruyi, and Alston now joins the list of high-end prospects who have come through campus this cycle.
Alston’s path to this point has been busy. After turning heads over the summer at Puma NXT Pro and the NBPA Top 100 Camp, he narrowed his options to seven schools: Kentucky, Louisville, Houston, LSU, Vandy and Wichita State.
He has already taken official visits to Tennessee and LSU, and before those trips his only visits had been unofficials to Kentucky, Louisville and Wichita State. His first Kentucky stop came last year for Big Blue Madness.
This time, he was back in Lexington for an official.
The Wildcats’ pursuit of Alston has picked up considerably since the coaching staff evaluated him during the summer. The most talked-about angle in his recruitment has been a possible Kentucky-Louisville showdown, with the Cardinals in the mix longer than Kentucky.
Still, there’s a connection worth noting on the UK side: assistant Mikhail McLean played at Alston’s high school, Houston Second Baptist. How much that matters in the end is unclear, but it has clearly been part of the mutual interest between the two sides.
If Kentucky lands him, the staff would be getting a lead guard with a clear identity. 247 Sports’ Adam Finkelstein described him this way:
"Alston is a playmaking lead guard who consistently creates offense for himself and his teammates. He’s an offensive engine who both thrives and is most comfortable as the primary domino in his team’s attack.
He has adequate positional size and length, deceptive strength and balance through contact, good open floor speed, and some sneaky leaping ability when he has a runway. ... While he’s able to generate shots regardless of the tempo of the game, he’s at his best in the open court.
His quick instincts, playmaking and passing feel all shine in the open space of a fast-paced game."
With visits stacking up and decision time drawing closer, Kentucky and Louisville remain the matchup to watch in Alston’s recruitment.
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