Wildcats Today

Some of Kentucky's top 2026 targets impressed in front of the staff this past weekend

The first recruiting live period saw some impressive performances.
Wyatt Huff|
Mar 28, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA;Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope in the first half during a Midwest Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
Mar 28, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA;Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope in the first half during a Midwest Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

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The summer AAU circuits are off and running. Last weekend was the first live period of the circuit season, where many coaches across the country took to circuits like Nike EYBL and Adidas 3SSB to take in some of their more prioritized targets in action, as well as discovering some new names. The Kentucky staff was out in full force at both Nike EYBL in Memphis and Adidas 3SSB in Iowa.

Some of Kentucky's top targets had some standout games in front of the staff. The duo of 2026 top prospects Tyran Stokes and Jason Crowe Jr. have been electric through two sessions at Nike EYBL, and that was no different last weekend in front of many coaches. Christian Collins and Jordan Smith have also been great so far on the circuit. Then, there's Anthony Thompson, who is participating on the Adidas 3SSB circuit, another one of Kentucky's top targets.

Let's check out how each of them performed over the weekend in front of the Kentucky staff.

1. Tyran Stokes

Stokes is the clear-cut No. 1 player in the 2026 class. He has certainly played like it through two sessions on the Nike EYBL circuit, averaging 18.2 points, 10.0 rebounds (3rd among 17U) and 4.0 assists per game. With a knack for attacking the rim, his physicality makes him hard to be stopped when heading to the rim. His best game over the weekend included an impressive 27-point performance that included 6 rebounds and 3 assists. As for his recruitment, Kentucky, Kansas and Louisville are seen as the top contenders right now. Stokes is still planning to visit Kentucky, but a new date has not been announced since he postponed the previous scheduled visit that was set for May 15.

2. Jason Crowe Jr.

Crowe Jr. has a special tie to Kentucky assistant coach Jason Hart, who is like family to him, as he and his father were teammates in high school, the same on the 6-3 guard attends now. Crowe Jr. is apart of a dynamic duo with Stokes on the Nike EYBL circuit. He certainly had to impress the staff over the weekend. His best game was an electric 35-point outing that helped their squad produce one of the best games on the circuit so far this season. He was impressive all weekend, with scoring splits of 35 points, 27 points, 18 points and 17 points. Crowe Jr. is averaging 24.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game through two sessions. Hart's longtime ties with the Crowe family should help Kentucky with this recruitment in the coming months, especially when he takes his visit to Kentucky for Big Blue Madness. Kentucky was even given a prediction to land the top guard by On3's Joe Tipton.

3. Christian Collins

A Top-3 player in the 2026 class, Collins recently earned an offer from Kentucky after the first session of Nike EYBL. He certainly made a great impression on the coaching staff, capping off his weekend with a very efficient 23-point performance on 7-16 shooting, including 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Collins is averaging 15.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game on the circuit. The 6-8 forward has a slew of top programs after him, including recent offers from Duke, Houston, Arkansas and Texas. Kansas, Alabama, Louisville and Arizona are some of the other programs after the elite forward. Collins has yet to take any visits, as those will likely come in the coming months.

4. Jordan Smith Jr.

Smith Jr. has seen the interest between him and the Kentucky staff ramp up recently, just before the Nike EYBL circuit started back up last month. The Kentucky staff had an in-home visit with the Top-10 guard on April 30, proving that they are really serious about ramping up the interest. Smith Jr. is planning to set up a visit soon. The 6-2 guard is averaging 19.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists so far on the circuit, with his best game from the weekend being 25 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists in front of the Kentucky staff, which was a product of the highly-anticipated game against Stokes and Crowe Jr. Smith Jr. has taken visits to Louisville, Duke, Syracuse and Georgetown so far, as he is in the process of planning others.

5. Anthony Thompson

Thompson has been one of Kentucky's top targets for a while. The Top-10 forward even took a visit to Kentucky for their game against Florida on Jan 4 before Kentucky came to see him in late April for an in-home visit. Kentucky stopped in Council Bluffs, Iowa to check out one of their most prioritized targets. His best game from the weekend on the Adidas 3SSB circuit included 26 points and 6 rebounds to go along with 3 steals. Other schools pursuing the top forward include Arkansas, Kansas, North Carolina, Auburn, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State, Michigan, BYU, Purdue, and others.

Kentucky checked out some of their other top targets over the weekend, including top guards in the 2026 class, Caleb Holt and Tay Kinney on the Adidas 3SSB circuit, who they have been recruiting for a number of months. As for other targets participating in Memphis, the staff got eyes on the No. 1 player in 2027, Baba Oladotun, as well as Top-10 forwards Tajh Ariza and Ryan Hampton. The staff also checked out 2026 prospects Austin Goosby, Anthony Felesi, Ikenna Alozie, Dean Reuckert and Dakari Spear, all of which are familiar names to the staff. They also have some new names that they recently got involved with, one of those being 2026 guard Kohl Rosario, who of which Kentucky assistant coach Alvin Brooks lll is starting to take notice. According to KSR's Jacob Polacheck, Kentucky had a call with Rosario on Monday following his impressive weekend.

New names will surely continue to pop up as the recruiting season rolls along and the staff gets eyes on them, but it will be interesting to see how many of the top recruitments that involve Kentucky continue to take shape.

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Wyatt Huff
WYATT HUFF

University of Kentucky Basketball and Football beat writer.

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