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.
In these days of cell phones, social media and hundreds of TV channels, teenagers have a lot of distractions.
To be good in fishing, you have to set all of that aside and be locked in to what you’re doing for eight or more hours.
Ten Northern Kentucky high schoolers will take on that challenge this weekend at the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state bass fishing tournament. The event is a two-day competition, May 8-9, at the Kentucky Dam Marina in Gilbertsville, western Kentucky.
Anglers can catch a maximum of five fish per day. Teams win by accumulating the highest total weight of fish.
“I’m pretty excited,” said Covington Catholic junior Drew Berling, one of the competitors. “Fishing up in Northern Kentucky doesn’t get a lot of recognition and hopefully we can do pretty well.”
Berling and teammate Eli Scroggins are one of five two-person teams that will have a boat in the competition after qualifying from the Region 2 tournament in Jamestown. They finished 14th in the regional.
Grant County has two boats. Hunter Lilly and Kyle Lilly finished third in the regional, Brian Hamm and Raymond Hamm finished 27th. Bishop Brossart’s Cooper Lackey and Paxton Litmer finished sixth. Ryle’s Tanner Norman and Owen Miller placed 28th.
Berling and Scroggins finished 49th in the state meet last year. Scroggins is competing at state for the third straight season.
Northern Kentucky has never won a bass fishing state title. CovCath has a strong recent history of success, with three top-10 finishes in the past five seasons, including second place by Brandon Smith and Phoenix Parks in 2024.
Grant’s Hunter Lilly finished 14th last year with a different partner. Dixie Heights had a fourth-place showing in 2015.
Berling, who has been fishing since seventh grade, said constant communication is a key between the partners.
“I like being out in the water and hanging out with my buddies,” he said. “Being out in the water is fun.”
While it’s fun, you have to be laser focused on what’s going on in the water. Patience is key.
“You can’t just be screwing around in the boat,” Berling said. “You got to really lock in and focus on the goal, which is to win the tournament. If you’re not focused, you’ll lose fish. You might pass over something that potentially holds the tournament-winning fish.”
The closest competition water to Northern Kentucky is Williamstown Lake, where Berling and others compete once or twice a week.
Berling said like any other sport the ability to stay in the present after a mistake is also important.
“If you’re angry and frustrated it’s pretty easy to lose your focus,” he said. “You just have to move past it.”
Bourbon and Beyond 2025 recap: See day one of music festival
Bourbon & Beyond brought thousands to the fairgrounds to enjoy the music, vibes, food and even Kentucky Kingdom. Recap day one.
Kentucky Kingdom opens for the 2026 season on May 9.
Whether you’re looking to soak up some sun at Hurricane Bay or check out the new $14 million roller coaster, the Flying Fox, it may be time to plan your next visit.
Here’s what to know.
When does Kentucky Kingdom open for the 2026 season?
Kentucky Kingdom will reopen for its 2026 season on May 9.
When does Hurricane Bay at Kentucky Kingdom open?
Hurricane Bay opens for the 2026 season on May 23.
How much is a season pass to Kentucky Kingdom?
Season passes start at $79.99 and go up to $209.99. Pre-K children’s passes are free.
How much is a single-day ticket to Kentucky Kingdom?
Single-day ticket costs vary by day. There is currently an opening sale, with single-day tickets available for $34.99. Tickets are valid for one day admission from May 9 to June 15.
When is Kentucky Kingdom open in May?
Beginning May 9, the park operates on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The park opens on weekdays beginning May 25, which is Memorial Day. Typical weekday hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and weekend hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
What are Kentucky Kingdom’s hours during the summer?
During most of June and July, Kentucky Kingdom is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
The park stays open longer from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. July 3-4 for its Bluegrass & Booms event.
When is Kentucky Kingdom open in August?
After Aug. 5, Kentucky Kingdom is closed on weekdays. The park will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 8-9, before hours switch to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting Aug. 15.
The park will also be open on Sept. 7 for Labor Day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
When does the summer season end at Kentucky Kingdom?
Hurricane Bay closes after Sept. 7, and Kentucky Kingdom closes for the season after Sept. 13. Hours will be reduced to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 12-13.
When do Halloween hours start at Kentucky Kingdom?
The Halloween-themed Pumpkins at Kentucky Kingdom event begins on Oct. 2 and operates from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. The last day for the event is Nov. 1.
When are Christmas hours at Kentucky Kingdom?
Christmas at Kentucky Kingdom opens on Nov. 21. Hours and days of operation vary. Visit kentuckykingdom.com for more details.
Reporter Maggie Menderski contributed. Reach Marina Johnson at Marina.Johnson@courier-journal.com.
Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo will not run in the Preakness Stakes next weekend, trainer Cherie DeVaux announced Wednesday.
DeVaux and owners decided to skip the Preakness and set their sights on the Belmont Stakes on June 6 at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York. DeVaux, who became the first woman to train a Derby winner, is from Saratoga Springs, which is hosting the Belmont for a third and final time this year.
“We are incredibly appreciative of the excitement and support surrounding the possibility of a Triple Crown run,” DeVaux said in a statement. “Golden gave us the race of a lifetime in the Kentucky Derby, and we believe the best decision for him moving forward is to give him a little more time following such a tremendous effort. His health, happiness and long-term future will always remain our top priority.”
Golden Tempo is the third Derby winner in the past five years not to be entered in the Preakness. For various reasons, it is the sixth time in eight years the Preakness will happen with no chance of a Triple Crown on the line. American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018 are the only horses to sweep all three races over the past four decades.
The two-week turnaround from the Derby to the Preakness, which used to be commonplace, is considered a nonstarter for many trainers and owners given that most elite thoroughbreds now typically go a month or more between races. It has caused endless debate in horse racing circles about the spacing of the Triple Crown in modern times.
Maryland racing officials are considering moving the Preakness back from the third Saturday in May to the fourth to increase the chances of not just the winner but other horses from the Derby being considered for the second leg of the Triple Crown. None of the 18 who ran this year at Churchill Downs are heading to the Preakness, with Golden Tempo the only one considered.
The Preakness is taking place at Laurel Park between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., this spring while its longtime home, Pimlico Race Course, is rebuilt as part of a massive construction project that included demolishing the debilitating old structure. Pimlico is set to become the site for year-round racing in Maryland beginning next year when the state takes control from 1/ST Racing, with Laurel becoming a training venue.
Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby as a 23-1 long shot in spectacular fashion, making a charge from the back of the pack down the stretch to the finish line a neck ahead of morning line favorite Renegade. DeVaux and co-owner Daisy Phipps Pulito said they would see how the colt came out of the race before making any decisions.
They followed the lead of trainer Bill Mott and Godolphin Racing, which last year chose to bypass the Preakness with Derby champion Sovereignty to give him extra rest for the Belmont. Sovereignty rewarded them by winning the Belmont and the Travers Stakes and is back racing as a 4-year-old.
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