‘I love Kentucky.’ UK is making an early impression on a class of 2028 recruit
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK basketball is showing early recruiting interest in Kameron Mercer.
- Mercer is a five-star shooting guard in the 2028 recruiting class.
- Mercer has already taken an unofficial visit to Mark Pope’s Kentucky program.
UK basketball is prepping for a roster overhaul this offseason.
Mark Pope’s program is targeting the transfer portal, as well as international and high school recruiting pathways, to bring in an influx of talent ahead of a crucial third season for Pope as Kentucky’s coach.
But the Cats have also been laying the foundation for future recruiting classes.
Pope has already extended seven scholarship offers to players in the 2027 recruiting class, prospects who are wrapping up their junior years of high school and are set to star this summer on travel basketball circuits.
Looking even further into the future, Kentucky is expressing early recruiting interest in members of the 2028 recruiting class, who are currently high school sophomores.
Kameron Mercer, a class of 2028 shooting guard from Cincinnati, has already been to Kentucky on an unofficial recruiting visit. That trip came in September.
In the months since, Mercer’s appreciation for the UK program has only grown, despite the Cats enduring a disappointing 2025-26 season.
“I love Kentucky... The way their practices are run and everything is super organized,” Mercer told the Herald-Leader last weekend at a USA Basketball junior national team minicamp in Indiana. “I love what they’re doing. I know they didn’t have the best year, but honestly, I think that they’ll turn it around next year.”
Mercer — a left-handed, 6-foot-5 prospect who is ranked as the top shooting guard in the 2028 class by the 247Sports Composite — has had a well-traveled high school basketball career to date.
As a freshman during the 2024-25 season, Mercer played at Huntington Prep in West Virginia. He was teammates there with Braydon Hawthorne, the current UK basketball freshman forward who redshirted the 2025-26 season for the Cats.
After one year at Huntington Prep, Mercer began his sophomore year in the Overtime Elite system in Atlanta. Midway through the season, Mercer transferred to Princeton High School in his hometown of Cincinnati. Mercer’s move back home came after Ohio began allowing high school athletes in the state to receive NIL money.
Mercer has more than 100,000 followers combined on Instagram and TikTok. Last summer, he signed a lucrative NIL deal with Panini America, a licensed sports and entertainment collectibles company.
After joining Princeton during the 2025-26 season, Mercer helped lead the Vikings to an Ohio High School Athletic Association boys basketball Division I state championship.
“I think I defend at a high level, and I push tempo,” Mercer said. “... If I get a rebound or I get an outlet (pass), I’m going, I’m going very, very fast. I’m just trying to create for others.”
Despite being classified as a shooting guard by major recruiting services, Mercer played point guard for Princeton as part of the Vikings’ state title-winning season.
“I’m just making decisions, pushing the tempo, running plays and everything just runs through me,” Mercer said.
That high school title capped a banner year for Mercer. Last summer, he won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the FIBA Under-16 AmeriCup in Mexico and a Nike EYBL Peach Jam title while playing up an age level in the E-16 division with Indy Heat.
Mercer, who turns 17 years old in August, was teammates on that victorious USA Basketball squad with four players from the 2027 recruiting class to whom UK has extended scholarship offers: Guards Nasir Anderson and Beckham Black and forwards CJ Rosser and Marcus Spears Jr.
“I think that, the higher the level, the better I play,” Mercer said. “So if I’m playing against other five-star recruits, four-star recruits, whatever you want to call them, or anybody that’s USA caliber, I just feel like I get better and I play up to the standard.”
Mercer’s budding college recruitment already features several brand-name schools. Local programs like Cincinnati, Ohio State and Xavier have already offered him a scholarship. The same can be said for Louisville, Maryland, Missouri and Villanova, among others.
Kentucky has yet to offer a scholarship to Mercer — or any player from the 2028 class.
But there’s obvious interest from the Cats in Mercer. And the feeling is mutual.
“They’re super physical. They play super fast,” Mercer said of Kentucky’s playing style.
In addition to his September trip to Lexington, Mercer was supposed to take another recruiting visit to Kentucky on Feb. 28 for a home game against Vanderbilt, which ended up being a 91-77 win for the Cats.
But a flat tire during Mercer’s drive down to Lexington scrapped those plans.
Starting June 15, college coaches will be able to directly contact Mercer and other high school prospects in the class of 2028.
Mercer said UK has been in contact with his agent.
