A recruitment that began before John Calipari ever came to Kentucky will end Wednesday, and the UK coach is hoping it will result in his second commitment in less than 24 hours.

Perry Ellis, a five-star forward ranked No. 24 in the nation by Rivals.com, will announce his college decision at 3:45 p.m. EDT at his high school in Wichita, Kan. He is considering UK, Kansas, Kansas State and hometown Wichita State.

Calipari has been following Ellis since his days at Memphis, where the star recruit's sister played for the women's basketball team. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound small forward was one of the first elite players to emerge from the class of 2012. Many of the country's top programs had expressed interest before he graduated from middle school, and Kansas Coach Bill Self was courtside at his first high school game in 2008.

Ellis is now entering his senior year at Wichita Heights, which he's led to three straight state championships and a 72-3 record in three seasons. He averaged 22.1 points and 7.9 rebounds last year, shooting 75 percent from the floor.

For his efforts, Ellis has been named the state's Gatorade Player of the Year three times. He also boasts a 4.0 GPA and juggled AAU basketball with a part-time job last summer.

The recruit welcomed all four schools for in-home visits last week, with Calipari and assistants Orlando Antigua and Kenny Payne spending nearly two hours with the Ellis family Friday.

Ellis' mother, Fonda, told Cats Illustrated that the family came away impressed with UK's recruiting pitch.

"I can tell he's a family man and cares a lot about family," she said. "He talked about having the players at his house a lot and building that team family atmosphere for the players. We're a close family, and I think that's important to me to know he's a coach who cares about family and treats his players like family."

Ellis plans to sign his letter of intent in November.