One of the best basketball recruits in the country won’t be coming to Kentucky
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Class of 2026 college basketball recruit Baba Oladotun commits to Maryland.
- Oladotun had a final list of schools that included Arkansas, Georgetown, Maryland and UK.
- Oladotun is a 6-foot-10 small forward from near Washington, D.C.
One of the best basketball recruits in the high school senior class has made his college commitment.
On Wednesday night, five-star small forward Baba Oladotun announced his commitment to Maryland from a group of four finalists that also included Arkansas, Georgetown and Kentucky.
Oladotun announced his commitment to the Terrapins during a live stream on his YouTube channel.
Wednesday is the final day of the early signing period for college basketball prospects.
A 6-foot-10 prospect from Maryland, Oladotun — who boasts a 6-foot-11 wingspan — was originally a member of the 2027 recruiting class. In August, Oladotun announced his plans to reclassify up a year.
He’s ranked by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 10 overall recruit and the third-best small forward in the 2026 class.
Oladotun took an official visit to Kentucky in October and was in attendance for UK’s Blue-White Game at Memorial Coliseum.
Back when Oladotun was a member of the 2027 recruiting class, he was the first player from that recruiting year to earn a scholarship offer from head coach Mark Pope and the Wildcats.
“I’m a versatile player. That’s one thing, I’ve always been a guard, and been able to play 1 through 5 since I was a kid, both offensively and defensively,” Oladotun told the Herald-Leader in October 2024, not long after he received that UK offer. “Shooting is my number one strength. Obviously, I work on that every day. I make 500 shots a day, seven days a week. I work out a lot, work on my skills. I have a really great work ethic.”
Oladotun has college basketball pedigree from his family. His father, Ibrahim, played at Virginia Tech from 1989 to 1991, appearing in 46 games for the Hokies. Before Virginia Tech, Ibrahim spent one year each at Wagner and at a Florida junior college.
“He’s just like the guy next door,” Ibrahim told the Herald-Leader last year about Pope, before Pope had made his Kentucky coaching debut. “The fact that he has the energy as a coach. … Just what he has done in such a short period of time. … He came to a good situation, but you have to be good as well. He’s just a very enthusiastic individual.”
At the time of his reclassification announcement, Oladotun was the No. 1 high school basketball prospect in the 2027 class in ESPN’s rankings. Despite moving up an age group, Oladotun maintained his reputation as one of the best high school prospects in the country.
At the time that Oladotun decided to move from the 2027 to the 2026 recruiting group, he was one of only four recruits in the 2027 class with a UK scholarship offer. Kentucky now has seven scholarship offers out to class of 2027 players.
Even though he’s a member of the high school senior class, Oladotun is still only 16 years old. He won’t turn 17 until December.
Following his pledge to join Maryland, Oladotun is now one of four players in that school’s 2026 recruiting group. He’s joined by four-star combo guard Kaden House, four-star power forward Adama Tambedou and three-star power forward Austin Brown.
Buzz Williams is in his first season at Maryland after previously spending six seasons as the head coach at Texas A&M. Williams also previously led the men’s basketball programs at New Orleans, Marquette and Virginia Tech. He’s made the NCAA Tournament on 11 occasions, including four trips to the Sweet 16 and one Elite Eight appearance in 2013 with Marquette.
Maryland is off to a 4-1 start this season and defeated Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday night.
What’s the latest with UK basketball recruiting?
In missing out on Oladotun, Pope’s program has failed to secure a commitment from another national prospect.
Oladotun is from the greater Washington, D.C., area, a locale with which Pope has recruiting history. Kentucky had a commitment from class of 2025 point guard and D.C. native Acaden Lewis, but Lewis decommitted from the Wildcats before he arrived in Lexington. Lewis is now at Villanova, where he has started all five games this season.
With Oladotun now off the board to Maryland there are still several uncommitted prospects left in the 2026 recruiting group who hold Kentucky basketball scholarship offers. But, UK isn’t actively recruiting all of these players.
For example, earlier this week five-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. trimmed his list of schools under consideration to five programs. Kentucky didn’t make the cut for Rippey, who took an official visit to the Wildcats in October.
Earlier Wednesday, five-star center Arafan Diane committed to Houston. UK was among the final five schools in his recruitment.
Kentucky still doesn’t have any commitments from the 2026 class. UK’s most likely commitment option is five-star power forward Christian Collins, who is set to chose between Kentucky, Southern California and UCLA.
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 7:40 PM.
