Somto Cyril commits to UK men’s basketball, giving John Calipari his first class of 2024 pledge
After an offseason of disappointment for the Kentucky men’s basketball program from a roster building standpoint, the tide seems to be turning for John Calipari’s program.
Following several late offseason additions to complete UK’s 2023-24 roster, the Wildcats scored a recruiting win for the future Wednesday afternoon by getting an elite center in the 2024 recruiting class to pledge his commitment to Kentucky.
Somto Cyril, a standout big man who played in the Overtime Elite league (OTE) after beginning his prep career in Tennessee, has committed to the Cats.
Listed as 6-foot-10 and 241 pounds on his OTE roster page, Cyril was a dominant force this past season playing for both the City Reapers team (which featured NBA Draft lottery picks Amen and Ausar Thompson) and the Cold Hearts team (which featured incoming Kentucky freshman Robert Dillingham).
Cyril also played against another incoming UK freshman while at OTE, small forward Jordan Burks.
Cyril posted per-game averages of 8.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 blocks during the OTE regular season, cementing himself as one of the most physically imposing college basketball prospects in the nation.
He was named the Overtime Elite Defensive Player of the Year for his efforts.
In the 247Sports Composite rankings, Cyril is ranked as a four-star recruit who is the No. 7 center in the 2024 recruiting class and the No. 44 player overall among class of 2024 players.
While there was significant talk of Cyril potentially reclassifying and joining UK a year ahead of schedule for the 2023-24 season, the plan, as of now, is for Cyril to remain in the class of 2024.
That timeline was reported by 247Sports national basketball analyst Travis Branham, and would allow Cyril to play another season at Overtime Elite.
Somewhat ironically, Cyril’s commitment to Kentucky was announced just minutes after UK released its jersey numbers for 2023-24 team members.
Cyril’s commitment to UK — which capped a long period of mutual interest between player and program — was secured with a recent push from UK. He took a recruiting visit to Kentucky in early June.
Cyril told Branham he helped foster his love of basketball by watching highlights of Ex-Cat Anthony Davis on YouTube.
He also said the resources available to the UK men’s basketball program stood out to him during his recent visit to Lexington.
“The fanbase, the technology they have over there to help you recover and make you a better basketball player and to keep you healthy in general,” Cyril told 247Sports. “They help you get where you want to be and they have a record of creating pros. It’s a place I feel like will get me to where I want to be.”
Cyril counted scholarship offers from the likes of Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, Providence and Tennessee among others during his recruiting process.
While Calipari and the Wildcats only recently extended an official scholarship offer to Cyril, the program has long been courting the center.
In February, Cyril told the Herald-Leader what he liked about the UK program following an Overtime Elite game in Atlanta.
“It’s just how they play basketball. They’re a winning team,” Cyril said. “I know they’re having a rough road right now but, the Kentucky I know and the one I grew up watching, they’ve been a winning team from the very beginning. Hopefully, they’re gonna get it back together. I love watching their basketball. And of course, the big dude, last year, he won the Player of the Year, Oscar Tshiebwe.”
Cyril also took a moment to describe his game in his own words.
“I feel like, offensively, I just need to be able to make plays for my teammates on the ball,” Cyril said. “I know I can do that off the ball and defensively, I get the job done. I stop people from scoring. I block shots. I get rebounds. I just try my best to get stops and that’s about it.”
Cyril, who was born in Nigeria, is the first class of 2024 commit for the Wildcats.
Cyril is building block for Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class
Literally, and metaphorically, Cyril represents a building block for Kentucky basketball’s 2024 recruiting class.
His size and defensive presence gives UK an interior player from which to start when courting other 2024 recruits, and Kentucky has plenty of top players on its list.
Including Cyril, Kentucky currently has 14 scholarship offers out to players in the 2024 recruiting class.
Several of these players — Airious Bailey (Rutgers), Naas Cunningham, Ian Jackson (North Carolina) and Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn) — have already committed to other programs, or have released final school lists with UK missing the cut.
But plenty of others — Amier Ali, Flory Bidunga, Isaiah Elohim, Boogie Fland, Tre Johnson, Karter Knox, Ahmad Nowell, Travis Perry and Billy Richmond — remain uncommitted.
It’s worth noting that Cyril’s commitment comes as Bidunga, the top center prospect in the country in the 2024 class, appears to be trending toward a Duke commitment.
Many of these top class of 2024 players will be in action at the prestigious Nike EYBL season-ending Peach Jam event in a few weeks in South Carolina.
This story was originally published June 28, 2023 at 4:14 PM.
