LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball got on the board in the 2025 recruiting cycle last week, landing a commitment from in-state star Malachi Moreno.

But first-year UK coach Mark Pope and his staff are far from done. According to 247Sports, the Wildcats have offered scholarships to 17 other prospects in the 2025 class. Only one of them has committed elsewhere: Five-star point guard Darius Acuff Jr. gave his pledge to Arkansas (and former Kentucky coach) John Calipari last month.

But UK also appears out of the running for the country’s top player in 2025, AJ Dybantsa. The unquestioned No. 1 prospect according to every major recruiting service (Rivals, 247Sports, On3 and ESPN), Dybantsa cut his list of finalists to seven earlier this month; Kentucky, which had offered him, was not part of that group.

The Wildcats also are unlikely to sign another top-10 prospect they once had targeted, Meleek Thomas. The combo guard, ranked as the No. 6 overall player in the 2025 cycle per the 247Sports Composite, trimmed his list to seven schools last month and did not include UK.

Here is a look at the other uncommitted 2025 recruits with UK offers:

High school: Highland (Warrenton, Virginia)

Position: Power forward

247Sports Composite national ranking: 13

247Sports Composite position ranking: 5

What to know: Nate Ament, a 6-foot-9 power forward, picked up an offer from Kentucky in June. Now, he’s set to take an official visit to Lexington next week. It will be Ament’s first official visit to a college. He’ll do the same next month when he has an OV with Virginia. He holds offers from nearly every high-profile program in the country. A prospect who continues to ascend in the 2025 rankings, Ament isn’t expected to make a decision until after the early signing period concludes in November. He recently spoke highly of Pope and his staff. “Him at BYU, they were a great team, they shot a lot of 3s. That’s kind of attractive to me as a player,” Ament told Kentucky Sports Radio last month. “He’s a great offensive mind, great coaching mind. It’s kinda hard not to like what he’s showing me right now.” As for Ament’s future, though “he’ll maybe play some faceup four in college … long term he’s looking like a jumbo wing, who, as good as he is, may just be scratching at the surface” of his potential, wrote Eric Bossi, the national basketball director for 247Sports.

High school: Columbus (Miami)

Position: Power forward

247Sports Composite national ranking: 2

247Sports Composite position ranking: 1

What to know: Considered the top prospect in 2025 outside of Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer could go to any school he’d like. And said school would welcome him with open arms. UK made him a high priority under Calipari. Pope has tried to ensure Kentucky remains in the race for Boozer’s services, too. In fact, the first game Pope attended after becoming the Wildcats’ coach during his maiden live recruiting period involved Boozer’s Nightrydas team at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League event outside Indianapolis in May. At one point during that event, Pope and two assistants (associate head coach Alvin Brooks III and assistant Jason Hart) were courtside for Boozer. UK’s staff also watched Boozer multiple times during Peach Jam in July. But as August draws to a close, it appears Kentucky’s chances of landing Boozer are remote. Recent reports from Rivals and 247Sports cited Duke — where Boozer’s father, former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, once excelled under Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski — and Miami as co-leaders for Boozer, with Florida still in the picture, too.

High school: Columbus (Miami)

Position: Point guard

247Sports Composite national ranking: 18

247Sports Composite position ranking: 3

What to know: Copy and paste much of what was written above about Cayden Boozer’s twin brother, Cameron. While Cayden isn’t as heralded as his brother, he’s still a talented prospect in his own right, rated among the top-30 players in the 2025 cycle by all four major recruiting databases. Earlier this year, Cayden told KSR he’d “definitely” be interested in the Wildcats if they contacted him. “That’s a winning program,” he said. “My visit was when coach Cal was there, but the facilities there were amazing.” In that same interview, Cayden also pushed back against the assumption he and his twin brother are a package deal and will sign with the same college. Despite that proclamation, it would be a surprise if the Boozer twins aren’t on the same college roster during the 2025-26 season. Which likely means they’ll be Blue Devils or Hurricanes.

High school: Prolific Prep (Napa, California) 

Position: Power forward

247Sports Composite national ranking: 23

247Sports Composite position ranking: 8

What to know: Niko Bundalo, who spent the summer training with Serbia’s under-18 national team, played for Ohio-based Western Reserve Academy last season. But he told 247Sports on Tuesday that he’ll transfer to California power Prolific Prep for his final high school season. Bundalo previously had cut his list of finalists to eight, a group that included Kentucky along with Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Texas, UConn and Xavier. Now another finalist is in the mix: Kansas. The consensus four-star forward already has set up official visits with Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State and UConn. An official visit to Kentucky will occur sometime in October. UK was supposed to be his final OV, according to 247Sports. With the Jayhawks now in the mix, that’s no guarantee. At this point, his recruitment is wide open; no Crystal Ball predictions have been logged for Bundalo. Even so, he aims to wrap up his recruitment sooner rather than later. “I don’t know if it is going to before my senior season starts but I definitely want (my decision) to be earlier,” Bundalo told 247Sports. “I want to have some time to get settled with the school that I commit to and then focus my energy into the season.”

High school: Eleanor Roosevelt (San Bernardino, California)

Position: Combo guard

247Sports Composite national ranking: 14

247Sports Composite position ranking: 3

What to know: Kentucky offered Brayden Burries last month. One of the top guards in the 2025 cycle — the four major recruiting services all have him ranked among the top 20 prospects in his class — Burries is still in the early stages of his recruitment. Despite boasting numerous Division I offers, including from prominent programs such as UK, Arizona, Duke, Illinois, Kansas, Louisville and UCLA, he’s yet to set up any official visits. 247Sports national recruiting analyst Travis Branham named Burries the best guard at this year’s Peach Jam after he averaged 22.2 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.8 steals per game for Strive For Greatness. He made 50% of his field-goal attempts at Peach Jam, including 41.7% on 3-pointers. Burries told KSR last month he’d like to come to a decision by January. But he added that’s a “maybe.” His timetable, for now, is still to be determined. “(I’m looking for) a great relationship with the head coach, a great program, a play style that fits me, and a coach that’s going to be honest with me,” Burries told KSR.

High school: Link Academy (Branson, Missouri) 

Position: Center

247Sports Composite national ranking: 16

247Sports Composite position ranking: 1

What to know: Chris Cenac is the top center in the 2025 class, per the 247Sports Composite, though ESPN is the only other recruiting service to list him at that position. (Rivals and On3 consider him a power forward). Regardless, the 6-10 Cenac landed an offer from UK in June and then was among his list of 12 finalists he released last month. Aside from Kentucky, his other 11 finalists are Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Houston, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Tennessee, Texas and UConn. Cenac has yet to take any official visits; the only schools to receive unofficial visits from the New Orleans native so far are Houston and LSU. Given that he more or less plays the same position as Moreno, it’s unclear how much the Kentucky big man’s recent commitment affects the Wildcats’ chances of signing Cenac. Despite his size, Cenac’s game is more perimeter oriented than Moreno’s. And Kentucky’s offensive scheme is what Cenac is looking for. “I’ll want to be looking for an NBA-type system, spreading the floor, playing four or five out,” he told On3. “I’m open to any school around the country really, location won’t matter.”

High school: Overtime Elite (Atlanta)

Position: Shooting guard

247Sports Composite national ranking: 10

247Sports Composite position ranking: 2

What to know: There have been so many twists and turns in this saga — and rumors, and rumors of rumors — a novel could be produced on this recruitment. Depending on the day, and sometimes even the hour, the front-runner for Jasper Johnson reportedly changes. At times, it’s North Carolina. At others, it’s Alabama. Kentucky once was thought to be entirely eliminated. Now, the Wildcats are reportedly in the thick of it. Of note: Predictions began pouring in late Thursday — on Rivals, 247Sports and On3 — forecasting Johnson as an imminent UK commit. A five-star shooting guard, Johnson is supposed to announce his commitment next week, with UK, Alabama and North Carolina the leaders (in some order), while Arkansas and Louisville also are listed as finalists. Adding Johnson to a class that already includes Moreno would give the Wildcats the top two players in the Bluegrass State in the 2025 cycle. The son of star UK defensive lineman Dennis Johnson, the younger Johnson is a Lexington native who in 2023 led Woodford County to the KHSAA Sweet 16 for the first time in nearly four decades.

High school: Sidwell Friends (Washington)

Position: Combo guard

247Sports Composite national ranking: 47

247Sports Composite position ranking: 8

What to know: Acaden Lewis, a four-star combo guard from the nation’s capital, picked up an offer from the Wildcats in June. A month later, Pope’s program was part of Lewis’ eight finalists, a group that also included Auburn, Duke, Michigan, North Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee and UConn. After visiting every member of that contingent, Lewis is expected to make his commitment “around the November early signing period,” according to 247Sports. Though he hasn’t set up an official visit with Kentucky yet, that’s expected to occur in the next few months. Earlier this week, Rivals.com national college basketball reporter Rob Cassidy handicapped the race among Lewis’ eight finalists, writing that Kentucky is “still very much in play” for his signature; Cassidy put Syracuse and UConn in the pole position for now, however. Lewis praised Pope earlier this year. “(Pope) just said that I’m a guy who could come in and play from Day 1,” Lewis told KSR+. “He trusts me with his program, and he thinks I could be something really special there.”

High school: Greenfield-Central (Greenfield, Indiana)

Position: Shooting guard

247Sports Composite national ranking: 73

247Sports Composite position ranking: 13

What to know: Ask around and there are few — if any — 2025 prospects who Kentucky should feel as confident about as Braylon Mullins. He’s as gifted a long-range shooter as there is in the 2025 cycle: Per KSR, Mullins knocked “47.3% of his shots from deep across 17 games played during the spring/summer.” And he achieved that percentage while averaging 7.7 3-point attempts per game for Indiana Elite, which plays on the Adidas 3SSB circuit. He’s got a who’s who list of finalists: Alabama, Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Purdue, Tennessee and UConn. Mullins already made an official visit to UConn earlier this month, with OVs to Michigan (weekend of Sept. 7), North Carolina (Sept. 14) and Indiana (Sept. 21) slated for next month. In October, he’ll have OVs to Duke (Oct. 5), Tennessee (Oct. 19) and Kentucky (Oct. 26); according to the IndyStar, Mullins won’t visit Alabama, Kansas or Purdue. The Wildcats earning his last visit doesn’t hurt. Neither does Moreno’s commitment. The pair have been teammates on Indiana Elite. And Moreno has pushed for that connection to continue in college. “We did have that in mind,” Moreno told KSR last week, referring to the possibility of playing with Mullins at UK. “I knew he was going to be great after — I mean he blew up the last three summers, I just knew he was going to be great. Once we had similar offers I was like, ‘Yo, we actually have an opportunity to be college teammates.’ … I’m gonna make sure he puts this (Kentucky shirt) on.”

Position: Power forward

247Sports Composite national ranking: 5

247Sports Composite position ranking: 3

What to know: Koa Peat earned an offer in April 2023 from UK’s previous coaching staff, led by Calipari. When Peat named his 10 finalists in January, Kentucky was part of that group. Since Pope took over, however, Kentucky’s attention has shifted elsewhere. As has Peat’s. He’s spent his entire life in Arizona. As of now, the in-state Wildcats are the presumed leaders. They’ll receive his last official visit, which is set for October. While Arizona should be confident of its chances of signing Peat at this juncture, Cassidy wrote Wednesday “programs such as Baylor, Arkansas and Duke are laying in the weeds and should be seen as threats.”

High school: Prolific Prep (Napa, California)

Position: Combo guard

247Sports Composite national ranking: 3

247Sports Composite position ranking: 1

What to know: Before disembarking for Arkansas, Calipari had UK in the mix for Darryn Peterson. Pope affirmed interest remained, reoffering Peterson in April. Kentucky made the cut for Peterson’s top eight, which he released last month. But all signs are pointing to this being Kansas’ recruitment to lose. For multiple reasons. None more important than this: Peterson has a name, image and likeness deal with Adidas. He stars on the Adidas 3SSB circuit during the AAU season. And, oh, yeah: Kansas is one of the company’s premier college programs. On top of that, Cassidy noted Wednesday that Peterson’s importance to the Jayhawks’ 2025 class “is galvanized by the fact that KU has taken a step back with other elite guards it was once heavily pursuing in the interest of letting Peterson know he’s the staff’s top priority.”

High school: Bullis (Potomac, Maryland)

Position: Center

247Sports Composite national ranking: 38

247Sports Composite position ranking: 4

What to know: Eric Reibe revealed last month he’d focus on only 11 schools going forward. Kentucky was one of them. He planned to take an official visit to Lexington next month. But with Moreno’s commitment last week, UK might bow out of the Reibe sweepstakes. According to KSR+ reporter Jacob Polacheck, “Sources tell KSR that Kentucky only plans to take one center in the 2025 recruiting class. … Sources close to Reibe’s recruitment tell KSR+ that his interest in Kentucky will be contingent on Mark Pope’s desire to continue recruiting him.”

High school: Holy Innocents’ Episcopal (Atlanta)

Position: Power forward

247Sports Composite national ranking: 4

247Sports Composite position ranking: 2

What to know: Caleb Wilson was one of Kentucky’s most highly sought-after prospects when Calipari still guided the program. But Pope and his staff have made up significant ground for Wilson in the past month. So much so that UK has earned one of just two official visits Wilson has announced so far. (Alabama is the other.) Wilson will be in Lexington the weekend of Sept. 13, when the football team hosts Georgia. That OV is the week after his trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Playing alongside the Boozer twins, Wilson showed out last month at Peach Jam, helping Nightrydas post an 8-0 record and win the tournament title. During the team’s run to the championship, Wilson averaged 17.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.8 blocks and 1.9 steals per game. He knocked down 62% of his field-goal tries and captured the Peach Jam’s defensive MVP award.

High school: St. Joseph (Santa Maria, California) 

Position: Power forward

247Sports Composite national ranking: 20

247Sports Composite position ranking: 6

What to know: Last month, just one day after Kentucky extended an offer to Tounde Yessoufou, he announced UK had made his list of 10 finalists alongside Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Kansas, Southern Cal, Tennessee, UCLA, UConn and Washington. He’s already taken OVs to Arizona, Washington and USC and has scheduled one next week with Baylor and then one next month with Tennessee. His official visit to UK will coincide with the program’s annual Big Blue Madness event in October. While Yessoufou hopes to make a decision some time “between November and January,” per KSR, the Wildcats have been on his radar since his childhood in West Africa. “Coming to the United States, Kentucky was definitely the main thing I watched on social media,” he told KSR in May, “and doing my research, I feel like it’s a great opportunity to be around people like that.” And he’s already established a rapport with Pope. “Every time he comes to my practice, he is a funny guy. He tells me to keep going and to play hard,” Yessoufou told On3 last month. “His energy is unique, he is the type of coach that can push you hard to develop yourself both on and off the court. His message to me is that he wants me to play for him because I am a great person and how hard I play.”

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.