Mark Pope’s latest recruiting stretch gave Kentucky fans plenty to keep track of, and the list keeps growing fast.
The biggest headline from the week was Pope offering Colton Hiller, the No. 2 player in the class of 2028, and then following that by extending an offer to another top-five 2028 prospect, center Bamba Touray. Kentucky is also pushing hard for five-star guard Reese Alston, while the staff has added Howard Williams, Brady Pettigrew, and Evan Willis to the mix as well.
That 2028 group already looks loaded. Touray, a 7-foot big from Senegal, brings a ton of upside. He still needs to add strength and sharpen up defensively, but he already has solid ball skills and a jumper that works for a player his size.
Hiller brings a different kind of profile. At 6-foot-6, he fits the wing mold and has scoring ability at every level. The source material makes it clear he has the tools to end up as the best player in the class, and his rise to No. 2 backs that up.
Pettigrew is another name Kentucky fans should know. He led the 16U field in scoring at Peach Jam with 23.6 points per game, which is a strong number for a four-star recruit.
Then there’s Willis, the five-star 6-foot-7 athlete from Utah, the same state as former Kentucky player Collin Chandler. Willis is a different kind of player than Chandler: taller, more defense-oriented, and not nearly as much of a three-point threat right now.
But he can fly, and his midrange game is already described as elite.
Kentucky’s more immediate attention is on the 2027 class, starting with Alston. The son of former NBA and streetball legend Rafer Alston is the third-ranked point guard in that group, and Kentucky is in serious contention with Louisville for him. His possible reclassification keeps the situation fluid for now.
Williams is another 2027 target on the board. He sits in the top 50 and Pope watched him at the Puma PRO16 circuit last week, which led to Mo Williams extending the offer on Tuesday.
It all points to a recruiting run that doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon. More offers are expected as summer ball winds down, and while commitments may still be a ways off, Kentucky is clearly loading up on major targets. The hope now is that the Wildcats can land another big one to go with five-star Ryan Hampton.
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