As the Kentucky Wildcats enter NCAA Tournament play, they still have no high school recruits committed for next season. For a while, the hope was that 5-star forward Christian Collins would become their first 2026 commitment, and…well, he’s ready to make a decision.
The consensus top-10 prospect will announce his college commitment on Tuesday, March 17, according to Joe Tipton of On3. The three finalists include Kentucky, USC, and, oddly, Louisville.
If you’ve been following this recruitment, you’d
know it’s a far-too-familiar story for Mark Pope and Co. The Wildcats were once the heavy favorites, things cooled off, and they’re now not expected to be the choice unless there’s a drastic change in the next 24 hours.
Several weeks back, recruiting predictions came in for USC to land Collins, who plays for St. John Bosco in California, so it makes sense for him to stay out west.
However, UCLA was thought to be the other primary contender for Collins once Kentucky began to fade, so seeing the Bruins not on the final list while Louisville, who was never thought to be a serious player, is odd.
Alas, this feels like another recruiting miss for Kentucky Basketball, a sentence we’ve uttered far too often for a while now.
It’s going to be a crucial portal season for Kentucky and the future of Mark Pope.
