The early returns under Will Stein have Kentucky looking like a program with some real juice. At 5-1 overall and tied for second in the SEC, the Wildcats have the kind of momentum that can spill well beyond Saturdays, and that’s exactly what’s happening on the recruiting trail.
Kentucky has picked up three predictions for major 2028 targets, with the most notable movement coming from Rivals’ Sam Spiegelman, who has logged predictions for Stein and the Wildcats to land Jordan Anderson and Kellan Hall. Chad Simmons also says Kentucky is “ making a strong push ” for Grayden Reid, and Cats Pause’s Josh Edwards has entered a prediction for Kentucky to land Hall as well.
Anderson is a 6-foot, 180-pound four-star wide receiver from Pflugerville, Texas, and he checks in as the No. 36 receiver in the class. He broke out as a sophomore for Pflugerville Weiss last season, piling up 74 catches for more than 1,200 yards and 17 touchdowns.
He’s also a track athlete, and his 22.40 time in the 200 meters shows the kind of speed that makes him such an intriguing fit for the future. With what Kenny Darby and DJ Miller have done in the Stein/Joe Sloan offense, it’s no surprise recruits are watching closely.
Hall is the headliner on defense. The 6-foot-4, 265-pound lineman from Christian Academy of Louisville is one of the biggest names in the 2028 class and is being chased by just about everybody.
Kentucky has stayed aggressive in his recruitment, and Hall has now visited twice in four home games for the Cats. His most recent trip came after he chose Kentucky over Ohio State.
Ranked No. 2 overall in the class, Hall brings the kind of size and power that can wreck an offensive line.
Reid gives Kentucky another high-end target to work with. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound cornerback is playing at Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts, but he’s originally from Louisville, where he played at Atherton High School.
He’s got offers from nearly every major program you can name, so this one is anything but simple for Kentucky. Still, the Wildcats are in the mix for a player ranked No. 89 nationally and No. 8 among cornerbacks.
Joe Price has taken the lead on Anderson, while Jay Bateman is the primary recruiter for Hall and Reid. Allen Brown has also helped out in Reid’s recruitment. With Kentucky trending upward in both the standings and the recruiting rankings, the Wildcats are building something that could grow fast if this run keeps going.
In Other News...
Kentuckys 1950 Title Claim Still Comes Down To One Debate
Kentuckys long-running football argument with Oklahoma has a clean backdrop this week, because the schools have barely crossed paths at all. The Wildcats and Sooners have met only three times before their upcoming SEC matchup, and the history between them goes right back to one of college footballs most debated seasons, when Kentucky added a retroactive national title claim from 1950.
That season still turns on which standard you trust more. Kentucky points to its Sugar Bowl win over Oklahoma as the seasons defining result, while Oklahoma finished the regular season atop both major polls. Add in the fact that Tennessee and Princeton also claim national titles from that year under different systems, and the old question remains as unresolved as ever: who really owned 1950? [Read more 🡒]
Mark Popes First Kentucky Team Just Got An Early SEC Reality Check
Kentuckys basketball reset under Mark Pope has already entered the part of the calendar where preseason optimism meets leaguewide skepticism. At SEC Media Days in Birmingham, the conferences preseason projections placed the Wildcats seventh on the mens side, even as two Kentucky players landed on the preseason All-SEC teams. It was a reminder that the first year of a new era does not come with much benefit of the doubt, even for a program with this much expectation baked in.
The womens team drew a stronger early nod, coming in at fifth in the league and getting Clara Strack on the preseason All-SEC First Team. Both teams are now turning their attention to actual basketball, with the men set to begin exhibition play against Little Rock as the season starts to take shape. For Kentucky, the rankings are only preseason noise, but they do offer an early snapshot of where the league thinks the Wildcats stand before the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Mark Popes Kentucky Staff Is Complete With One Notable Twist
Mark Pope has rounded out his Kentucky staff for the 2026-27 mens basketball season, with the university formally announcing the addition of Alfred Aboya as an assistant coach and John Pelphrey as director of player development. The hires give the Wildcats a full complement around Pope, and they also underline how much of this staff build has been about layering different kinds of experience into the program.
Aboya arrives with international coaching experience and recruiting ties to Africa, giving Kentucky another avenue to explore beyond the usual domestic footprint. Pelphrey, a former Kentucky player and veteran coach, had already begun around the program before the official move, a sign of how Pope has been piecing together the group with both familiarity and purpose as the Wildcats continue shaping the next stage of the program. [Read more 🡒]