UK is still recruiting Tyran Stokes as the high school signing period begins
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The spring high school signing period for college basketball programs begins Wednesday.
- Kentucky already has a 2026 commitment from four-star point guard Mason Williams.
- UK basketball is still recruiting its top prep target, small forward Tyran Stokes.
The regular signing period for high school basketball players to ink paperwork tying them to NCAA Division I programs begins Wednesday.
And plenty is still up in the air about which high school prospects will be joining Kentucky basketball for the 2026-27 season.
As the signing period starts, the Wildcats only have one commitment from a class of 2026 prospect. That’s Mason Williams, a four-star point guard who pledged to join Mark Pope’s program in March.
Williams — a 6-foot-2 floor general who is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 109 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class — is a son of Mo Williams, the former NBA All-Star and Jackson State head coach who joined Kentucky this offseason as an assistant coach.
The younger Williams is viewed as a likely depth piece for Kentucky in the 2026-27 season, which is why the lion’s share of the recruiting focus is on top-ranked prospect Tyran Stokes.
A 6-7 small forward who is originally from Louisville, Stokes is the consensus top recruit in the 2026 class. He’s one of only two five-star prospects from the high school senior class yet to settle on a college choice.
Stokes’ college recruitment is perceived to be a blue-blood battle between Kansas and Kentucky. Pope and the Wildcats hosted Stokes on a recruiting visit earlier this week. That visit included Stokes getting up shots Monday night inside Rupp Arena.
This was Stokes’ second visit to Kentucky. He also toured UK in June 2025.
Stokes is expected to receive a significant NIL and revenue-sharing investment from whichever college he chooses. While that means Kansas, Kentucky or another school would then have less money to use on proven college basketball players from the NCAA transfer portal, Stokes is considered to be a game-changing talent.
The Jayhawks and Wildcats — the two programs that have taken turns leading Stokes’ recruitment over the past few months — are in the interesting position of attempting to construct their respective 2026-27 rosters while still waiting on a decision from Stokes.
So far this offseason, neither Kansas nor Kentucky has received a commitment from a transfer portal player. At least five Jayhawks — sophomore center Flory Bidunga, freshman forward Bryson Tiller, sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson, freshman forward Samis Calderon and senior guard Jayden Dawson — have entered the portal seeking to leave the Kansas program. Freshman center Paul Mbiya confirmed his intention to enter the portal, but his status as of this week was unclear. Sophomore guard Jamari McDowell is expected to enter the portal, according to On3.
Seven Wildcats — senior guard Denzel Aberdeen, freshman guard Jasper Johnson, sophomore forward Andrija Jelavic, sophomore guard Collin Chandler, junior forward Brandon Garrison, junior guard Jaland Lowe and junior forward Mouhamed Dioubate — have done the same at UK.
Kentucky’s top recruiter for Stokes, former assistant coach Jason Hart, left UK this offseason to become the associate head coach at SMU.
For Kentucky in particular, a potential commitment from Stokes would be a significant achievement. Pope has only landed pledges from two five-star recruits in his 11 seasons as a college basketball head coach. Both of those came last year, when Johnson and center Malachi Moreno joined the Wildcats.
The last time UK landed the No. 1 high school recruit in the nation was 2015, when Skal Labissiere committed.
While the college basketball offseason is well underway, Stokes hasn’t set a timeline for his college commitment. He’s expected to only play one season of college hoops before departing for the NBA.
Because the signing period has started, Williams — Kentucky’s lone 2026 commit — is expected to soon sign paperwork that officially ties him to the UK program. Once that happens, Pope and other UK coaches can specifically mention Williams by name when discussing him publicly.
“We’re really excited about where we are,” Pope said about recruiting during his final radio show of the 2025-26 season on March 23. “Just hang in there, guys. Hang in there with us. I think recruiting is going to work out just great.”
Currently, Williams and Stokes appear to be the only high school recruits in the picture for Kentucky.
Including Stokes, five of the top 50 high school seniors in the 247Sports recruiting rankings are still uncommitted to a college.
Five-star combo guard Dylan Mingo (No. 8 in the rankings) had been committed to North Carolina, but Mingo has reopened his recruitment following a coaching change that saw Michael Malone replace Hubert Davis at the helm of the Tar Heels’ program. Mingo’s older brother, Kayden, is in the NCAA transfer portal following a standout freshman season at Penn State.
Other notable high school seniors yet to find their college home are small forward Anthony Felesi (No. 35), shooting guard Quincy Wadley (No. 42) and small forward Kayden Allen (No. 50).
