The Kentucky staff is out in full force recruiting as July live period begins

The July recruiting live period kicked off on Thursday, where coaches were allowed in gyms all across the country to get eyes on current and future recruiting targets. For the Kentucky staff, that means bouncing back and forth between Adidas 3SSB championships and Nike EYBL Sesssion llll this weekend in South Carolina. It is a major recruiting time for all coaches and scouts, and the Kentucky staff is already hard at work.

The biggest event happening right now is in Rock Hill, SC, where a number of Kentucky's top targets are playing for the "Palmetto Road Championship." The targets include 2026 prospects Anthony Thompson (#11 overall), Caleb Holt (#5 overall), Tay Kinney (#14 overall), Deron Rippey Jr. (#17 overall), Billy White (#53 overall) and Arafan Diane (#73 overall). 2027 prospect targets Bruce Branch, Martay Barnes and Nassir Anderson are also participating in the event. While in Rock Hill, the staff has a new target on their radar, reaching out to 2026 top 20 forward Cam Williams after watching him multiple times this week. As far as highlights from the event go, Anthony Thompson was very impressive on Thursday night with a 35-point performance.

Over in North Augusta, Nike EYBL has held Session llll of their circuit the past few days before Peach Jam begins on Sunday, which is widely seen as the most prestigious recruiting event. The Kentucky staff has been going back and forth from Rock Hill and Augusta as the two circuits collide over the next few days, before all eyes turn to Peach Jam. There is a slew of Kentucky targets participating in the Peach Jam tournament, including 2026 #1 prospect Tyran Stokes, who just dropped 31 points on Thursday, a sign of what's to come as things play out over the next week. 2026 targets Brandon McCoy (#2 overall) and Christian Collins (#4 overall) are among Kentucky's top targets participating in the prestigious event, as well as 2027 targets Baba Oladotun (#1 overall), Obinna Ekezie Jr. (#7 overall) and Ryan Hampton (#2 overall) are also in the event.

It's going to be an action-packed time over the next week keeping up with the Kentucky staff with who they are watching, prioritizing, and new targets that may emerge over that time.