Calipari’s recruiting history at Kentucky
Class of 2020
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247c | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Devin Askew | Santa Ana, Calif. | 10/17/19 | 22 | 24 | 27 | 20 | N/A | -- | In HS |
| Brandon “BJ” Boston | Atlanta | 7/27/19 | 17 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 12 | -- | In HS |
| Terrence Clarke | Boston | 9/14/19 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 | N/A | -- | In HS |
| Cam’Ron Fletcher | St. Louis | 8/4/19 | 41 | 46 | 46 | 44 | 41 | -- | In HS |
| Isaiah Jackson | Detroit | 11/16/19 | 24 | 27 | 32 | 27 | 22 | -- | In HS |
| Lance Ware | Camden, N.J. | 9/12/19 | 33 | 44 | 35 | 36 | 36 | -- | In HS |
McDonald’s All-Americans (2): Boston, ClarkeClass rankings: 1st by Rivals | 1st by ESPN | 1st by 247SportsOther notes: Kentucky also added three transfers in this cycle: Wake Forest center Olivier Sarr, Creighton graduate transfer guard Davion Mintz, and Rhode Island forward Jacob Toppin. The Wildcats also added preferred walk-on Isaac DeGregorio, a talented high school guard with coaching aspirations.
Class of 2019
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247c | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Dontaie Allen | Falmouth, Ky. | 8/2/18 | 67 | NR | 91 | 104 | 92 | -- | Current |
| Keion Brooks | Fort Wayne, Ind. | 3/15/19 | 28 | 35 | 14 | 23 | 24 | -- | Current |
| Johnny Juzang | Tarzana, Calif. | 5/10/19 | 34 | 29 | 30 | 32 | 34 | -- | 1yr |
| Tyrese Maxey | Garland, Texas | 5/9/18 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 | -- | 1yr |
| Kahlil Whitney | Chicago, Ill. | 8/8/18 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | -- | 1yr |
McDonald’s All-Americans (2): Maxey, WhitneyClass rankings: 2nd by Rivals | 3rd by ESPN | 2nd by 247Sports | 2nd in RSCIOther notes: The Cats also added Bucknell star Nate Sestina, who was ranked by ESPN as the No. 2 available graduate transfer in the 2019-20 offseason. Clark County standout Brennan Canada joined the team as a preferred walk-on.
Class of 2018
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247c | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Ashton Hagans | Covington, Ga. | 4/10/18 | 13 | 20 | 12 | 12 | 14 | -- | 2yrs |
| Tyler Herro | Greenfield, Wis. | 11/14/17 | 36 | 30 | 38 | 37 | 35 | 13th | 1yr |
| Keldon Johnson | South Hill, Va. | 11/11/17 | 15 | 7 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 29th | 1yr |
| EJ Montgomery | Marietta, Ga. | 4/9/18 | 11 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 10 | -- | 2yrs |
| Immanuel Quickley | Bel Air, Md. | 9/22/17 | 22 | 25 | 19 | 22 | 23 | -- | 2yrs |
McDonald’s All-Americans (3): Johnson, Montgomery, QuickleyClass rankings: 2nd by Rivals | 2nd by ESPN | 2nd by 247Sports | 2nd in RSCIOther notes: UK’s incoming group in 2018 also included graduate transfer Reid Travis, a former McDonald’s All-American who came to Kentucky after spending four years at Stanford, where he was a first-team all-Pac 12 selection as a junior in the 2017-18 season. Preferred walk-on Zan Payne -- the son of UK assistant coach Kenny Payne -- also joined the team for the 2018-19 season.
Class of 2017
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 247 | 247c | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Jemarl Baker | Menifee, Calif. | 4/11/17 | 82 | 88 | 66 | 91 | 73 | 72 | -- | 2yrs |
| Hamidou Diallo | Queens, N.Y. | 1/7/17 | -- | 11 | -- | 11 | 10 | 46 | 45th | 1.5yrs |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Hamilton, Ont. | 11/14/16 | 34 | 41 | 35 | 20 | 31 | 30 | 11th | 1yr |
| Quade Green | Philadelphia, Pa. | 11/19/16 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 33 | 26 | 23 | -- | 1.5yrs |
| Kevin Knox | Tampa, Fla. | 5/6/17 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 11 | 10 | 9th | 1yr |
| Nick Richards | Kingston, Jamaica | 11/10/16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 18 | -- | 3yrs |
| Jarred Vanderbilt | Houston, Texas | 12/23/16 | 14 | 12 | 19 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 41st | 1yr |
| PJ Washington | Dallas, Texas | 11/10/16 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 12th | 2yrs |
McDonald’s All-Americans (5): Green, Knox, Richards, Vanderbilt, WashingtonClass rankings: 2nd by Rivals | 2nd by ESPN | 2nd by 247Sports | 1st in RSCIOther notes: Quade Green decided to transfer to Washington after just one and a half seasons with Kentucky. Jemarl Baker sat out his first season due to injury, played as a redshirt freshman, and then transferred to Arizona after that season. Hamidou Diallo joined UK’s program during the middle of the 2016-17 season but only practiced with the team for his first semester on campus. He was not officially included in the 2017 rankings from Rivals.com and ESPN, and his RSCI composite ranking suffered as a result.
Class of 2016
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 247 | 247c | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Bam Adebayo | Little Washington, N.C. | 11/17/15 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 14th | 1yr |
| De’Aaron Fox | Houston, Texas | 11/13/15 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5th | 1yr |
| Wenyen Gabriel | Machester, N.H. | 10/1/15 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 13 | None | 2yrs |
| Sacha Killeya-Jones | Chapel Hill, N.C. | 8/19/15 | 24 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 21 | -- | 2yrs |
| Malik Monk | Lepanto, Ark. | 11/19/15 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 11th | 1yr |
McDonald’s All-Americans (4): Adebayo, Fox, Killeya-Jones, MonkClass rankings: 1st by Rivals | 1st by ESPN | 2nd by 247Sports | 1st in RSCIOther notes: Sacha Killeya-Jones decided to transfer to North Carolina State after two seasons with Kentucky. Wenyen Gabriel entered the NBA Draft after two seasons at UK but was not selected. The 2016 cycle also saw the Cats add walk-on Brad Calipari, the son of Coach John Calipari.
Class of 2015
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 247 | 247c | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Isaiah Briscoe | Newark, N.J. | 11/14/14 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 12 | 11 | None | 2yrs |
| Isaac Humphries | Sydney, Australia | 8/20/15 | -- | -- | 49 | 62 | 47 | -- | None | 2yrs |
| Skal Labissiere | Port-au-Prince, Haiti | 11/14/14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 28th | 1yr |
| Charles Matthews | Chicago, Ill. | 2/26/14 | 48 | 78 | 42 | 64 | 60 | 50 | -- | 1yr |
| Jamal Murray | Kitchener, Ont. | 6/25/15 | 9 | 12 | -- | 10 | 10 | 71 | 7th | 1yr |
| Tai Wynyard | Auckland, New Zealand | 1/25/15 | -- | -- | -- | 59 | 89 | -- | -- | 2.5yrs |
McDonald’s All-Americans (1): BriscoeClass rankings: 1st by Rivals | 2nd by ESPN | 2nd by 247Sports | 3rd in RSCIOther notes: UK also added junior-college prospect Mychal Mulder as a scholarship player in this class, but he was not included in the postseason recruiting rankings. Walk-ons Jonny David and Dillon Pulliam also joined the team during this recruiting cycle. Isaac Humphries was generally considered to be a four-star recruit but reclassified late in the cycle and was not ranked by Rivals.com or Scout.com. Jamal Murray played for a high school in Canada and was not ranked by ESPN after also reclassifying late in the process. Tai Wynyard, who transferred to Santa Clara after two seasons, came to UK for New Zealand and was not ranked by several U.S. recruiting outlets. Isaiah Briscoe and Humphries both decided to go pro after two seasons at UK, but neither was selected in the NBA Draft. Matthews transferred to Michigan after one season at Kentucky.
Class of 2014
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 247 | 247c | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Devin Booker | Grand Rapids, Mich. | 11/1/13 | 29 | 29 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 13th | 1yr |
| Trey Lyles | Indianapolis, Ind. | 11/6/13 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 12 | 12 | 12th | 1yr |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | Piscataway, N.J. | 12/4/12 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 1st | 1yr |
| Tyler Ulis | Chicago, Ill. | 9/14/13 | 21 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 34th | 2yrs |
McDonald’s All-Americans (4): Booker, Lyles, Towns, UlisClass rankings: 2nd by Rivals | 2nd by ESPN | 2nd by 247Sports | 2nd in RSCIOther notes: UK’s only recruiting class where every member went on to be an NBA Draft pick.
Class of 2013
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 247 | 247c | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Aaron Harrison | Richmond, Texas | 10/4/12 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 6 | None | 2yrs |
| Andrew Harrison | Richmond, Texas | 10/4/12 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 44th | 2yrs |
| Dominique Hawkins | Richmond, Ky. | 4/10/13 | -- | -- | -- | 152 | 203 | -- | None | 4yrs |
| Dakari Johnson | Brooklyn, N.Y. | 1/6/13 | 9 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 48th | 2yrs |
| Marcus Lee | Antioch, Calif. | 10/18/12 | 19 | 24 | 25 | 14 | 18 | 18 | None | 3yrs |
| Julius Randle | Dallas, Texas | 3/21/13 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7th | 1yr |
| Derek Willis | Mt. Washington, Ky. | 1/21/12 | 115 | -- | -- | 58 | 130 | -- | None | 4yrs |
| James Young | Rochester Hills, Mich. | 10/12/12 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 17th | 1yr |
McDonald’s All-Americans (6): Harrison, Harrison, Johnson, Lee, Randle, YoungClass rankings: 1st by Rivals | 1st by ESPN | 1st by 247Sports | 1st in RSCIOther notes: The Cats also added EJ Floreal as a walk-on during this recruiting cycle. Marcus Lee transferred to California after three seasons, and Aaron Harrison entered the NBA Draft after two seasons but was not selected. Dominique Hawkins and Derek Willis were the last two in-state recruits to sign with Kentucky as scholarship players.
Class of 2012
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 247 | 247c | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Willie Cauley-Stein | Olathe, Kan. | 10/31/11 | 40 | 48 | 40 | 47 | 43 | 38 | 6th | 3yrs |
| Archie Goodwin | Little Rock, Ark. | 9/21/11 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 29th | 1yr |
| Nerlens Noel | Everett, Mass. | 4/12/12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6th | 1yr |
| Alex Poythress | Clarksville, Tenn. | 11/11/11 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 8 | None | 4yrs |
McDonald’s All-Americans (2): Goodwin, PoythressClass rankings: 1st by Rivals | 2nd by ESPN | 1st by 247Sports | 1st in RSCIOther notes: The Cats also added Julius Mays as a graduate transfer during this cycle, and Ryan Harrow -- a transfer the previous year -- was eligible to play for the Cats starting with the the 2012-13 campaign. Harrow transferred to Georgia State after one season with the Cats. UK also added Tod Lanter as a walk-on during this cycle.
Class of 2011
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | 247 | 247c | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Anthony Davis | Chicago, Ill. | 8/14/10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1st | 1yr |
| Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | Somerdale, N.J. | 4/14/10 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2nd | 1yr |
| Marquis Teague | Indianapolis, Ind. | 4/23/10 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 29th | 1yr |
| Kyle Wiltjer | Portland, Ore. | 8/29/10 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 19 | None | 2yrs |
McDonald’s All-Americans (4): Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, Teague, WiltjerClass rankings: 1st by Rivals | 1st by ESPN | 1st by 247Sports | 1st in RSCIOther notes: Former Mississippi State player Twany Beckham joined the Wildcats midway through the 2010-11 season and was eligible to play for UK during the 2011-12 season. UK also added walk-ons Brian Long and Sam Malone during this recruiting cycle. Kyle Wiltjer transferred to Gonzaga after two seasons with the Cats.
Class of 2010
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Terrence Jones | Portland, Ore. | 5/20/10 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 18th | 2yrs |
| Enes Kanter | Istanbul, Turkey | 3/24/10 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 7 | 3rd | 1yr |
| Brandon Knight | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | 4/14/10 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8th | 1yr |
| Doron Lamb | Queens, N.Y. | 4/18/10 | 21 | 28 | 29 | 26 | 42nd | 2yrs |
| Stacey Poole | Jacksonville, Fla. | 9/25/09 | 33 | 67 | 51 | 50 | None | 1yr |
McDonald’s All-Americans (3): Jones, Knight, LambClass rankings: 1st by Rivals | 1st by ESPN | 1st in RSCIOther notes: Junior college addition Eloy Vargas, originally a Florida Gators player, was not ranked as an incoming UK recruit due to his juco status. West Jessamine star Jarrod Polson joined the team as a preferred walk-on in this cycle. Stacey Poole left the team for Georgia Tech during the fall semester of his second year. Enes Kanter was ruled ineligible and never played for Kentucky, though he did practice with the Wildcats.
Class of 2009
| Player | Hometown | Committed | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | RSCI | Draft | At UK |
| Eric Bledose | Birmingham, Ala. | 5/6/09 | 23 | 37 | -- | 52 | 18th | 1yr |
| DeMarcus Cousins | Mobile, Ala. | 4/8/09 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5th | 1yr |
| Jon Hood | Madisonville, Ky. | 5/8/08 | 40 | 45 | 92 | 64 | None | 5yrs |
| Daniel Orton | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 10/13/08 | 22 | 17 | 13 | 19 | 29th | 1yr |
| John Wall | Raleigh, N.C. | 5/19/09 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1st | 1yr |
McDonald’s All-Americans (1): CousinsClass rankings: 1st by Rivals | 1st by ESPN | 1st in RSCIOther notes: One of Calipari’s first additions to this class was Darnell Dodson, a junior college transfer who played just one season for the Cats before heading to Southern Miss. Eric Bledsoe’s academic eligibility was in question during the latter stages of his recruitment, and he was not ranked by ESPN. Jon Hood and Daniel Orton committed to former UK head coach Billy Gillispie, but Calipari honored those commitments after taking over as the Wildcats’ coach.
This story was originally published July 22, 2018 at 12:00 AM.