After Vince Marrow’s departure, Kentucky is building 2026 recruiting momentum
When the calendar turned to June, Kentucky football’s 2026 high school recruiting class included just one commitment, significantly behind the pace of most of Mark Stoops’ tenure as coach.
Less than a month later, much has changed.
Kentucky lost recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow to archrival Louisville, but the momentum in the 2026 class actually picked up. Meanwhile, the lone commitment in the class before June, four-star Paducah Tilghman offensive lineman Jarvis Strickland, has since decommitted from the Wildcats.
After a pledge from Texas prep defensive lineman Ben Duncum on Wednesday, the class now includes 11 commitments, all of whom announced plans to play for Kentucky in the last three weeks. The class is still light on star power, at least according to the recruiting websites, but the volume of recent commitments at least should ease some of the worries from the slow spring.
Here is a closer look at the June commitments.
DL Ben Duncum
High school: Lake Travis (Austin, Texas)
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
The Wildcats picked up a commitment from Duncum less than one week after he took an official visit to Lexington. He visited Kansas State, Wisconsin and Oklahoma State earlier in the month. Kentucky has not recruited Texas heavily in the Stoops era, but Duncum was already the third commitment from the Lone Star State to pick the Wildcats in June.
WR Dallas Dickerson
High school: North Oconee (Bogart, Georgia)
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
After taking spring visits to Indiana, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and Kentucky, Dickerson picked the Wildcats, continuing the momentum for new Wildcats wide receivers coach L’Damian Washington on the recruiting trail. Rivals ranks Dickerson as a four-star prospect, tying him for UK’s highest-rated commitment in its database at the time of his pledge. Speed is a strength for Dickerson, who won a state track championship in the 100-meter dash (10.6 seconds) as a junior.
DB Isaiah McMillian
High school: Katy (Katy, Texas)
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
Kentucky withstood three additional visits for McMillian after he took his official to Lexington to land his commitment on June 22. Houston, Pittsburgh, Iowa and Arizona were the other teams that he visited before his announcement. McMillian is also a standout sprinter on the Katy track and field team.
TE Lincoln Watkins
High school: Port Huron Northern (Port Huron, Michigan)
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
It was notable that Kentucky was not heavily connected to any tight ends in the class before Marrow’s departure, but new tight ends coach Derek Shay wasted little time addressing that concern by pushing for Watkins’ commitment after being promoted. Watkins quickly committed after a June visit to Lexington. Rivals ranks him as a four-star prospect.
RB Delvecchio Alston
High school: Hewitt-Trussville (Trussville, Alabama)
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
Alston picked Kentucky over Virginia, Memphis and South Florida. Most of Alston’s offers are from the Group of Five conference level, so his performance as a senior is worth monitoring. A strong showing could garner interest from other Power Four programs. Otherwise Kentucky will need to be confident in its evaluation.
LB Max Mohring
High school: Malvern Prep (Malvern, Pennsylvania)
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
Defensive coordinator Brad White has planted a flag in his evaluation of Mohring, who took official visits to only UCF and Kentucky before committing to the Wildcats. The majority of his offers were from Ivy League schools. Now the question is whether in the transfer portal era Kentucky can keep a developmental prospect around long enough to see him grow into a contributor.
DB Messiah Tilson
High school: Guilford (Rockford, Illinois)
247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars
Following Strickland’s decommitment, Tilson is the only four-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite in the class. Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Rutgers were the other contenders for his commitment. While Illinois is a bordering state for Kentucky, Tilson would be the first high school recruit from the state to sign with Kentucky since Glenn Faulkner in 2011.
OL Cameron Miller
High school: Morton (Hammond, Indiana)
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
Kentucky rebuilt its offensive line through the transfer portal this winter, but at some point the Wildcats will need to find more stability from within by developing high school signees. With Strickland now looking elsewhere, Miller is the only offensive lineman in the class thus far. He picked UK after also taking spring official visits to West Virginia and Texas Tech.
DB Jordan Crutchfield
High school: Vero Beach (Vero Beach, Florida)
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
UK may have lost Marrow to Louisville, but the staff did earn an early recruiting win versus the Cardinals with Crutchfield’s commitment. He pledged to UK shortly after an official visit to Lexington and then canceled a scheduled trip to Louisville for the next weekend. He also visited Mississippi State this spring.
WR Prince Jean
High school: Valdosta (Valdosta, Georgia)
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
Jean told 247Sports that UK coaches pitched him on the idea of filling a similar role in the offense as Alabama transfer Kendrick Law will this fall, so expect him to settle at slot receiver if he ultimately signs with UK. Jean also made it clear in that interview that his relationship with Washington was key in his commitment. He also visited Virginia and Kansas State.
WR Davis McCray
High school: Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio, Texas)
247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars
It was McCray who finally ended Kentucky’s spring recruiting drought, pledging to the Wildcats on June 3, more than two months after Stoops and company had received their only other commitment in the class (Strickland). McCray kickstarted an unlikely run of success in Texas, where UK has signed just two high school recruits during the Stoops era.