Kentucky
2027 top 30 recruit Beckham Black hearing from Kentucky staff consistently
When the 2027 direct contact period officially began in June, top 30 guard Beckham Black was one of the handful of recruits that the Kentucky staff expressed interest in. Black, originally from Duncanville, TX, will be playing at Southeastern Prep in Orlando, FL next season. The 6-3 guard spoke with Kentucky Wildcats on SI to update his recruitment.
As a Texas native, Black has received plenty of interest with programs like Texas, TCU, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, but there has been a lot of recent buzz with him and USC, given head coach Eric Musselman coached his brother, Anthony, at Arkansas, although Black said he has yet to hear from John Calipari and Arkansas. The Trojans have been on him pretty hard. When asked if proximity to home will be a factor in his decision, Black says ‘it feels good’ to be recruited by Texas schools, but it won’t become a deciding factor. As for schools recruiting him the hardest, Black didn’t single out any specific schools, saying the contact has been ‘pretty even’ with all of the schools that are recruiting him.
As far as his relationship with Kentucky goes, he is maintaining consistent contact with his lead recruiter Mikhail McLean. “It’s been good. (McLean is) Just telling me some stuff about the school, just getting to know him, telling me about some of the history of the school. So just, building relationships.” Black also seems to be a big fan of a fast-paced playing style, which is one of the key components of Mark Pope’s offense, saying, “I definitely like to play fast. So whatever college I do choose, that will be one of the things, just playing fast.” The 6-3 guard did admit he didn’t watch much college basketball at all last season, but it seems like Pope’s type of offense really intrigues him.
Right now, given his recruitment being in the very early stages, the four-star guard isn’t too worried about narrowing down a list of schools anytime soon, and more so focused on building relationships with all of the schools after him and staying patient while other schools continue to join the fold. “I’ll definitely say I have a pretty good relationship (with the schools). You know, all of the schools are pretty consistent with reaching out. So just, just building relationships. …Right now, I’m really just focused on building relationships with some of the coaches at the schools.” What is Black looking for in a school? “I would just say competitive practices,” he said. “I just feel like that’s that’s always a good way to get better, always competing, and then the a good coaching staff who knows what I’m trying to do, know what we’re trying to do as a team, and just overall a winning school.”
Black says a few of the newest programs to get involved are UConn and Gonzaga, both of which he has heard from recently. The top 30 prospect visited both Arkansas and USC last season, where he attended a game at each program, but Black also says he is scheduled to visit SMU on August 2.
GRAYSON, Ky. (WSAZ) – New information has been released in the search for a missing woman at Grayson Lake.
According to game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Marly Kinney, 19, of Ashland, was last seen at Grayson Lake on Wednesday afternoon.
They say search efforts are focused on the water at this time and include Kentucky State Police aerial support, drones, boats, and K9 assistance.
Crews suspend search for missing teen for the night
The search is now into its third day, with officials saying on and off rain has hindered their search and that a group of 50 volunteers are walking the banks of the lake to help in the search.
Search and rescue boats have been seen at the lake as well.
Officials say there are still many questions, including if Kinney is still alive and where exactly she went missing.
They also say they’ve been using a variety of equipment, including sonar and thermal detectors, as well as helicopters and underwater drones.
WSAZ received a statement from Kinney’s family Friday afternoon:
“We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, 1st responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly. We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
We are still working to get more information.
Previous coverage can be found here.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
13 things more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot
Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Here are 13 things more likely to happen than becoming an instant millionaire.
The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Thursday, June 25, 2026 winning numbers for each game.
Cash Ball
02-08-24-32, Cash Ball: 09
Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Evening: 6-3-0
Midday: 9-6-0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 5-7-6-0
Midday: 5-2-6-6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
03-13-14-34-45, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Courier Journal digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.
On Thursday, Kentucky’s home and away SEC opponents for the 2026-27 season were revealed and on top of learning the three opponents who they will play twice, there are some very intriguing matchups. In conference play, Kentucky will face six teams who are among the top 25 in many preseason rankings.
In SEC play, Kentucky will play Tennessee, Vandy and Ole Miss all both home and away. The home matchups include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vandy. As for the road tilts, the Wildcats will face Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Vandy. Let’s take a look at some interesting developments from the schedule release.
John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena (again)
In Calipari’s first year with Arkansas, he got the best of Kentucky when he came into Rupp Arena and left with a 10-point victory, a game where you could really feel the tension all game long in the building from Kentucky fans, which translated onto the court with the players. Last season, it was Kentucky who shocked everyone when they stole one on the road against a top 20 Arkansas team after a rough up-and-down season up to that point. Now, the two will face off again as Kentucky will look to get the win in Rupp and make sure Calipari doesn’t get two in a row in the building. It’ll be another highly-anticipated showdown.
Kentucky hits the road at Texas
This is shaping up to be a major challenge for Kentucky next season and may even end up being one of the biggest games of the season. Texas is seen by many as a clear top 10 team, with some even having them within the top five and when you combine that with the fact that the game is on the road, the Wildcats will have their hands full. The Wildcats fell to the longhorns in the 2024-25 season, and it’ll be a much stiffer challenge this time.
Which game could be a trap?
We don’t have the game-by-game dates yet, so it’s hard to say with a lot of confidence, but opponent-wise, Georgia could really give Kentucky fits. In Pope’s first year, his team struggled handling the physicality of the Bulldogs and now, they’ve retained one of their best guards for another year and have added physicality through the portal. Mike White’s teams love to make opponents uncomfortable and they could do that once again down in Athens. Another sneaky team to watch is Oklahoma, who will have very good guard play. Kentucky will face both teams on the road.
Overall, it’s a pretty fair SEC schedule for a Kentucky team who has the capability of a return to being atop the conference once again. Mark Pope has such a system-fit squad and he can do some damage in the SEC.
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