A 2027 five-star center has put Kentucky in his top six schools

With the 2026 recruiting class wrapped up, Mark Pope and his coaching staff have moved on to the 2027 class. The Wildcats have already landed a player as five-star Ryan Hampton picked the Wildcats, and Mo Williams played a large role in this get. This addition gave Big Blue Nation some confidence in Coach Pope, which is very exciting for the future, as recruiting has been an issue.

The Wildcats are in the hunt for another elite player in the 2027 class, and that is five-star center Darius Wabbington. The 6’11 245-pound center is ranked as the #15 player in the 247Sports composite rankings. The Phoenix, Arizona, native just put out his list of top six schools, which included Kentucky, Louisville, Indiana, Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina.

Five-star prospect Darius Wabbington has cut his to six schools and has scheduled three official visits, @KayserHoops reports.

Wabbington is having a big summer for the @Compton_Magic 👀 https://t.co/OVWKUBYs3Y pic.twitter.com/V1ODWXiRDA
— League Ready (@LeagueRDY) June 30, 2026

The five-star Wabbington has three visits set up right now to Louisville, Arizona, and Texas, so Kentucky is going to have to work to get this elite player on campus. When watching the film on Wabbington, what stands out is how well he can handle the basketball. He can get the ball in his hands far away from the basket and get the rim like a guard, yet he is 6’11.

He is capable of making a jump shot, which means opponents would have to respect it, but his footwork around the rim was very impressive. One of the most impressive parts about his game to me was how he could speed up real quick to blow by a slower defender. He is 6’11 245 pounds, but he is very fast, and this is quite impressive. You don’t often see a player the size of Wabbington moving the way that he does.

Sunnyslope Vikings teammates Darius Wabbington (21) and Rider Portela (15) celebrate a defensive stop in the final seconds of their 58-53 win over the Millennium Tigers during their Open Division boys basketball state semifinals game at Chaparral High School in Phoenix on March 5, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Passing is something that is very important for bigs in the Pope offense, and I have seen some film of him tossing some dimes to his teammates for assists. Knowing that Wabbington can handle the basketball, pass, and is quick makes it sound like he would be the perfect point center for Coach Pope.

Now the goal for Pope and the staff will be to get Wabbington on campus for a visit, as they are behind in that aspect. If they can get this done, then things will start to heat up for the five-star center. This is a name for BBN to pay attention to as Pope gets rolling in the 2027 class.

Add us as a preferred source on Google