Top Kentucky recruiting target receives prediction to land elsewhere

There has not many good things happening for Kentucky basketball fans lately, and the same goes for the recruiting side of things. Last month, Kentucky Wildcats on SI put out updates on the top targets for Mark Pope and Kentucky, noting how much Mark Pope and the staff are really slipping. Now, things have officially gotten worse with the top-ranked prospect in the 2026 class.

After we reported last month that Kentucky was in a deep hole with Tyran Stokes, with another school emerging as the new favorite, that bad news is now becoming official. On Fridaay, 247 Sports logged a prediction for Stokes to land at Kansas. That comes as no surprise after Kentucky has slipped in the top prospect's recruitment over the last two months. Still don't buy all of this Kansas buzz? On3's Joe Tipton, one of the more well-respected recruiting insiders, spoke recently about what he has been hearing in the Stokes sweepstakes:

"I think that’s probably been real for a month now or so. Kentucky was the early favorite there. A lot of things have since changed in that recruitment. Kentucky hasn’t played as well here to start the first half of the season, which I think has also had an impact on where he was looking. As the recruitment kind of went on, Kansas has remained really steady and has a pitch that Tyran is definitely listening to. think Kansas is kind of the school to watch, and I think that he’ll make it back to Lawrence this month for a visit."

Tipton is right about everything he said. This Kansas buzz is nothing new, it's just now becoming official. The Jayhawks began making a real push at the beginning of Novemeber around the early signing period, before quickly gaining momentum after Stokes went through the early signing period with no announcement. Then, the Kansas buzz really got going, and ever since early December, Kansas has looked like the leader. As mentioned above, Tipton also noted that Kentucky's bad start to this season has also played a factor. Sources have indicated to Kentucky Wildcats on SI that it hasn't just only affected Stokes' perception of Kentucky in the recruiting world, and that shouldn't be surprising at all.

It isn't just the current Wildcats that have a bleak outlook right now, it's also the landscape of recruiting for the Wildcats, now expected to lose out on two top targets that at one time were heavy favorites back in October, one who even reopened his recruitment. The only other one Kentucky could seemingly make up ground with is Caleb Holt, and the Wildcats continue to slip more with him, too, with Alabama currently leading. here isn't much optimism with Kentucky basketball and the 2026 recruiting class. They have a lot of work to do, as they still have no commitment wrapped up.