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.