Will Stein hasn’t even settled into his new office in Lexington, but his staff is already working like they’re on the clock for 2026, 2027, and even 2028. While Stein wraps up his duties at Oregon, the Kentucky recruiting machine is already humming - and it’s clear this new regime isn’t just trying to plug holes. They’re laying the foundation for something bigger.
Kentucky Makes the Cut for 2027 Four-Star CB Chase Johnson
The early returns are promising. One of the biggest early names to watch is 2027 four-star cornerback Chase Johnson out of Emanuel County Institute in Swainsboro, Georgia. Johnson, already a national recruit with close to 30 offers, just trimmed his list to 10 - and Kentucky made the cut.
That’s no small thing when you’re sharing space with heavyweights like Georgia, Florida State, Miami, and Auburn. Johnson is ranked as a top-250 prospect nationally and the No. 25 corner in his class, according to 247Sports. For a program like Kentucky trying to level up in an SEC that’s only getting deeper, that’s exactly the kind of player you need to be in the mix for.
Landing Johnson won’t be easy - but getting into the conversation this early is half the battle. By the time the 2027 class signs, these players will have spent their entire high school careers in the NIL and transfer portal era.
That means relationships matter more than ever. The programs that start early, stay consistent, and build trust are the ones that will close the deal when it counts.
Defensive coordinator Jay Bateman knows what he wants in a corner: twitchy, competitive, and confident enough to play on an island. That allows him to bring pressure and get aggressive up front - a hallmark of his defensive philosophy.
Johnson fits that mold. This recruitment is an early test of whether Kentucky can recruit at the level it needs to in order to compete with the best in the SEC.
2028 LB Ashton Chiles Emerges as a Key Early Target
If recruiting for 2027 sounds forward-thinking, try this: Kentucky is already working on 2028.
One of the first names on the board is linebacker Ashton Chiles out of the DMV area. He’s already got Power Four offers from Texas A&M, Boston College, and Maryland - and he’s still got multiple high school seasons ahead of him. At 6'2", 215 pounds, Chiles is the kind of early-developing athlete who turns heads fast.
He’s also a prototype for what Bateman wants in a linebacker: physical enough to plug gaps in the run game, athletic enough to stay on the field in modern coverage schemes, and mature enough as a prospect to justify early investment.
Getting in now, before his offer list explodes, is how you win these battles. If Kentucky can frame this opportunity as Chiles being the centerpiece of a defense - not just another name on the depth chart - they’ve got a shot to build something real in the DMV pipeline.
Why Kentucky Is Building for 2026, 2027, and Beyond
This is what long-term vision looks like.
Stein’s staff isn’t just diving into the portal for quick fixes and hoping the rest works itself out. They’re taking a layered approach:
- Targeting immediate help through the portal
- Keeping current commits locked in
- And building a recruiting foundation for 2026, 2027, and 2028
That’s how you build sustainability - not just by chasing stars, but by identifying the right guys early and building relationships that last.
Kentucky’s never going to win a pure star-counting contest with Georgia or Alabama. But they don’t have to. If they can consistently find players like Chase Johnson and Ashton Chiles - guys who fit their system, buy into development, and grow with the program - they can build a roster that competes in the SEC.
This isn’t about quick wins. It’s about changing the trajectory of the program. And from the way things are moving, Stein and his staff aren’t wasting any time.