Former Kentucky basketball recruit Acaden Lewis commits to a new school
After decommitting from the Kentucky basketball program on April 10, class of 2025 recruit Acaden Lewis has found his new college home.
On Thursday, Lewis — a 6-foot-2 guard from Washington, D.C. — committed to Villanova and head coach Kevin Willard for the 2025-26 season.
Lewis is ranked by the 247Sports Composite as a four-star prospect and as the No. 29 recruit in the 2025 high school class.
In November, Lewis committed to UK, choosing the Wildcats over the other finalists in his recruitment, Duke and UConn. Lewis was the last of Kentucky’s three high school recruits in the 2025 class to commit to Mark Pope’s program last fall. Lewis’ commitment came after pledges from in-state center Malachi Moreno in August and guard Jasper Johnson in September.
When he committed to Kentucky, Lewis represented the first high school prospect without previous ties to the commonwealth that Pope successfully recruited to the Wildcats. Pope’s personal recruiting approach was a major factor in Lewis’ decision to pick UK.
Lewis first took an unofficial visit to Kentucky in June 2024, during which he picked up a Kentucky scholarship offer. Lewis was UK’s top visitor for Big Blue Madness in October. Kentucky also got the final official visit from Lewis in his initial recruitment.
Kentucky announced in November that all three incoming players — Johnson, Lewis and Moreno — had signed to play for the Cats during the 2025-26 season.
But, UK’s projected roster for next season includes plenty of ball-handling options.
This includes returnees Collin Chandler and Trent Noah, who is listed as a forward. Otega Oweh has declared for the 2025 NBA draft while keeping open his option to return to Kentucky for his senior college season.
Freshman guard Travis Perry entered the transfer portal just hours before the deadline to do so. But, that decision came well after Lewis had already decommitted from UK.
Kentucky has signed former Pittsburgh guard Jaland Lowe out of the transfer portal, and Lowe is projected to start at point guard for the Wildcats next season. UK also signed Denzel Aberdeen from the transfer portal. Aberdeen is a guard who spent the last three seasons at Florida and won the 2025 NCAA title with the Gators.
And of course there’s Johnson, a five-star high school recruit who began his prep career at Woodford County High School in Versailles.
Lewis — who decommitted from UK after the Wildcats landed Lowe from the transfer portal — is now set to join Villanova next season.
“I will always be grateful to Coach Pope and the entire Kentucky staff for believing in me,” Lewis said in a statement to ESPN when he announced his decommittment from UK. “It is clear Kentucky is a special place with an amazing fan base, but as I reflect on what is best for my future, I have decided to re-open my recruitment. This was an incredibly difficult decision, but after a lot of discussion with my family and people I trust, I feel this is necessary. This is not in any way a reflection of any negative feelings towards Coach Pope and Kentucky. I appreciate your understanding and am excited for what the future holds.”
Willard will be in his first year at Villanova next season after previously coaching Maryland for three seasons. The Terrapins made the Sweet 16 in last season’s NCAA Tournament, losing to eventual national champions Florida in the regional semifinals.
Willard replaced Kyle Neptune as Villanova’s head coach this offseason. Villanova missed the NCAA Tournament in all three of Neptune’s seasons at the helm.
“The staff I ultimately had the most trust in was ‘Nova,” Lewis told ESPN on Thursday after committing to Villanova. “... Kevin Willard and his staff were among the first high-major coaches to recruit me at Maryland. I have built a great relationship with them and have immense trust that I will thrive and they will let me be me.”
After reopening his college recruitment, Lewis also fielded interest from Georgia, Miami (Fla.) and St. John’s.
Lewis won’t be the only familiar face for Kentucky fans on Villanova’s roster next season.
Among the transfer additions for Willard’s team is ex-Cat Devin Askew, a guard who most recently played at Long Beach State. Also joining Villanova for the 2025-26 season as transfers are guard Bryce Lindsay (James Madison), small forward Zion Stanford (Temple), combo guard Malachi Palmer (Maryland), center Duke Brennan (Grand Canyon) and center Braden Pierce (Maryland).
Villanova’s incoming class of freshmen includes Lewis, combo guard Chris Jeffrey and center Nico Onyekwere.
What does Kentucky basketball’s roster look like for 2025-26 season?
Kentucky basketball’s 2025-26 roster is nearly complete.
Currently, UK projects to have 12 scholarship players in place for next season.
There are four expected returnees from last season’s UK squad. Those players are freshmen guard Collin Chandler, freshman forward Trent Noah, sophomore center Brandon Garrison and junior guard Otega Oweh.
Oweh has declared for the 2025 NBA draft, but he still has the option to return to UK for his senior season. Freshman guard Travis Perry entered the transfer portal just before the deadline to do so. Fifth-year guard Kerr Kriisa has transferred from UK to Cincinnati.
Kentucky has already announced the additions of five players from the transfer portal this spring. Those future Cats are junior guard Denzel Aberdeen (Florida), sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama), sophomore guard Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh), freshman big man Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State) and freshman wing Kam Williams (Tulane).
Kentucky’s three incoming first-year college players for next season are Johnson and Moreno from the traditional high school recruiting pathway, and Andrija Jelavic from Europe.
Johnson is a left-handed guard and the No. 21 national recruit in the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. Moreno was a McDonald’s All-American and Sweet 16 state champion this year.
Jelavic, a soon-to-be 21-year-old big man from Croatia, has played the last two seasons for Mega MIS, also known as Kosarkaski klub Mega Basket and Mega Superbet, a professional team based in Serbia.
Kentucky is still involved in the high school recruitment of Braydon Hawthorne, a four-star small forward from West Virginia. Hawthorne was previously signed to play at West Virginia, before an offseason coaching change occurred with the Mountaineers program.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 10:31 AM.
