Kentucky
Future Wildcats shine in updated 2025 recruiting rankings
If you watched ESPN’s 150th Anniversary of College Football series, you may have heard Rece Davis mention how recruiting is the lifeblood of college football. Recruiting is a vital difference in being able to achieve sustained success year after year.
It’s never too early to start looking at 2025 recruiting for the Kentucky Wildcats, with 247 Sports releasing their updated rankings for the 2025 class.
Here’s how the Cats’ top commitments in 2025 fared in this update:
- Cedric Works, DE (Clayton, Ohio): No. 86 prospect (No. 11 Edge rusher); 93 rating
- Javeon Campbell, DL (Frankfort, Kentucky): No. 109 prospect (No. 15 Defensive Lineman); 92 rating
- Quintin Simmons Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio): No. 161 prospect (No. 16 Wide Receiver); 91 rating
- Martels Carter Jr. (Paducah, Kentucky): No. 223 prospect (No. 19 Safety); 91 rating
Kentucky currently ranks No. 19 overall in the 247 team rankings for the 2025 recruiting class, highlighted by seven 4-star commits and an average rating of 88.78. They are the ninth-highest-rated class in the 16-team SEC.
Elsewhere, ESPN analyzed the top 40 classes in 2025, with Kentucky ranked No. 18 overall. Five Kentucky commits made the ESPN 300, highlighted by running back Marquis Davis (No. 117 overall) on offense and defensive end Javeon Campbell (No. 173 overall) on defense.
The Wildcats’ offense featured Ray Davis, one of the top rushers in the SEC now with the Buffalo Bills, in 2023. Marquise Davis gives them another talented rusher, even if it’ll be another season before he arrives. A versatile player who could also project to defense, Davis has a sturdy build at 5-foot-11, 204 pounds with a nice blend of speed and quickness. He’s a productive runner who rushed for more than 2,000 yards as a junior.
Kentucky has used transfers in recent years at quarterback, but ESPN 300 QB Stone Saunders give the Wildcats a promising option to develop within the system. A competitive player with good arm strength, Saunders will be a four-year starter in high school. He threw for more than 3,000 yards and 50 touchdowns as a junior. The Wildcats have kept some of the state’s top defensive prospects at home in ESPN 300 safety Martels Carter Jr. and DE Campbell. Carter has good speed, ball skills and can contribute in the return game. Campbell is a basketball player with limited prep football experience having started playing as a junior but has shown he is a quick study notching over a dozen sacks last year and still has room to grow as a player and could be a disruptive and versatile defensive lineman for the Wildcats.
Mark Stoops and Co. appear to have another special class in the works.
Kentucky
Secretary of State launches statewide Kentucky Time Capsule Project commemorating America's 250th
In the dog days of the summer, there’s not a whole lot going on across college athletics. We are currently receiving some fun, short clips highlighting the upcoming team practices.
One recent piece of news that caught our attention is that all the main recruiting sites have updated their high school rankings recently. 247 Sports updated their rankings a few weeks ago, while ESPN and Rivals updated theirs on Monday.
Several notable names for Kentucky have moved around slightly, so let’s take a look at where they are now.
Kentucky’s lone commit in the 2027 class to this point comes in at No. 20 on ESPN, No. 19 on Rivals, and No. 12 on 247 Sports. He was also bumped down to 4-star status at ESPN and Rivals.
Hampton has been a polarizing player: Some are very high on him and think he could be the best scorer in the class, while others believe he will be a project piece and has some big-time growing to do before he gets anywhere close to his ceiling.
It appears Hampton will need a strong end to the AAU season if he wants to regain 5-star status at Rivals and ESPN.
Spears is the cousin of Kentucky commit Ryan Hampton, son of an NFL great, and a highly sought-after forward in this class. He’s still slotted at No. 1 on ESPN and 247 Sports, but shockingly, Rivals dropped him down to No. 7 overall as a 4-star prospect. Their new rankings only have a pair of 5-star prospects.
Still, Spears is one of the players that people are most confident in overall and see a pretty high ceiling for. With the 6’9 frame and a super versatile offensive bag, Spears Jr. is being pursued by almost every coach and program in the entire country so far.
Remember the guy that Mark Pope and Mikhail McClean went fishing with? Well, here he is. Rosser, similar to Spears with position and size, is a big-time target for the entire country. He’s 6’9 with a strong build and is very capable of translating right away at the next level with his physicality.
Rosser is now No. 4 on ESPN, No. 1 on Rivals, and No. 3 on 247 Sports.
Kentucky cast a pretty wide net for this class of 2027, across many positions. Some other notable names that Mark Pope and this staff have reached out to and talked to are PG Beckham Black (No. 2 on ESPN, No. 3 on Rivals, and No. 2 on 247 Sports), SF Demarcus Henry (No. 3 on ESPN, No. 5 on Rivals, and No. 5 on 247 Sports), CG Adan Diggs (No. 5 on ESPN, No. 2 on Rivals, and No. 4 on 247 Sports). That’s just a few of the top names that Kentucky has shown interest in, and has gone to watch play a time or two.
It’s only July, but the recruiting never stops, especially in Lexington.
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