It turns out 5-star small forward prospect Christian Collins isn’t going to play his college basketball career anywhere in the entire state of Kentucky, not just the University of Kentucky.
Collins has announced his decision to attend USC, deciding to take his talents to Southern California over both Kentucky and Louisville. Kentucky was the favorite to land him back in the fall, but negotiations broke down.
Now, Collins is heading to Los Angeles to start his college basketball career.
Collins is the
nation’s No. 3 overall prospect, according to Rivals. He would have been Kentucky’s biggest commitment ever under Mark Pope.
This is another big loss in recruiting for Pope and the Cats. They have missed out on several big names in high school recruiting and the transfer portal recently.
There are currently zero commits to Kentucky in the 2026 class, even though multiple big names, like Tyran Stokes, remain.
A deep run in the NCAA Tournament would also help the Cats on the recruiting trail, showing that they can advance deep in the Big Dance with Pope leading the program after making the Sweet 16 last season.
