Connect with us

Kentucky

Kentucky football has one commitment for its 2026 class. What’s behind the struggles?

Published

on

Kentucky football has one commitment for its 2026 class. What’s behind the struggles?


play

  • Kentucky football’s 2026 recruiting class has only one commitment as of May 1, among the fewest of any Power Four program.
  • The Wildcats’ slow start in 2026 recruiting contrasts sharply with previous years under coach Mark Stoops.
  • The team’s disappointing 4-8 record in the 2024 season likely is a contributing factor to the recruiting struggles in the 2026 cycle.

LEXINGTON — Following Kentucky football’s final practice of the spring April 12, longtime coach Mark Stoops acknowledged the harmony required in modern-day roster construction, a reality in which the transfer portal now rivals — and at some schools surpasses — high school recruiting in importance.

“As you move forward, I think you look at the strategy of it, and how many you’re actually going to take, you know what I mean?” said Stoops, referring to his program’s high school recruiting. “And what the balance is going to be between the portal and between high school guys. The high school recruiting for us is very good. We love the freshmen that we have on this team, and the guys that are going into their second year, we really feel good about.”

Advertisement

No two rosters are ever the same, of course.

“It’s what your needs are,” Stoops said. “Obviously, after last season, we needed to get some guys with some experience, with some playing time.”

To Stoops’ point, the Wildcats loaded up in the transfer portal during the winter window.

They added 20 transfers — just one fewer than their 2025 high school signing class, which featured 21 players.

The emphasis on the transfer portal as opposed to the high school ranks has lasted into this year, with teams having turned their attention to the 2026 recruiting cycle.

Advertisement

It’s been a struggle to this point for UK.

As of May 1, it has just one player committed: Jarvis Strickland, a four-star in-state offensive lineman from Paducah, got the ball rolling March 30.

Not only is that meager figure stunning juxtaposed against Stoops’ 12-year tenure. But the date is noteworthy as well.

The Courier Journal dove into the numbers to provide context for Kentucky’s issues it’s had in the 2026 class so far — and what it might mean for the future.

Advertisement

Strickland’s pledge was significant on two fronts.

One, removing the 2013 class, when Stoops had been on the job barely two months (he was hired in November 2012), March 30 marks the latest it had ever taken for Kentucky to earn its first commitment in a Stoops-led cycle.

Second, it puts UK on an incredibly short list of Power Four programs with one (or fewer) commitments in the 2026 high school class. Florida is the only other SEC school with just one commit. The other Power Four schools in the Lone-or-None Club (as of May 8): Colorado (one) and Wake Forest (zero).

It’s not as if Kentucky has entirely ignored next year’s group of high school graduates.

Advertisement

It’s just that the Wildcats have whiffed on multiple 2026 targets already.

UK was the first SEC school to offer Ohio offensive lineman Adam Guthrie and had made him a priority. In a decision that caught recruiting experts by surprise, Guthrie committed to Clemson on March 7. UK hosted linebacker Terry Wiggins for an official visit in April; in-state power Penn State didn’t even need an OV to earn Wiggins’ commitment May 2. Perhaps the most frustrating misses, given the school the recruits cast their lot with: St. Xavier linebacker Karsten Busch committed to Louisville on March 7; one day later, offensive lineman Joel Ervin did the same.

Though Ervin later decommitted and flipped to Miami, the fact the Cardinals beat the Wildcats on back-to-back days for prospects both were actively recruiting highlights the gap between the Bluegrass State’s two most prominent football programs in 2026.

U of L has 13 commitments, a dozen clear of UK.

Just how far off are the Wildcats’ 2026 efforts compared with previous years?

Advertisement

Using May 1 as the cut-off date for the following year’s class — for example, May 1, 2024, for the 2025 cycle — UK’s one pledge to this point is its fewest ever under Stoops. The previous low-water mark was two years ago, when it had two commitments for 2024 when the calendar flipped to May 2023.

Here’s the full breakdown:

  • 2025: Six (As of May 1, 2024)
  • 2024: Two (As of May 1, 2023)
  • 2023: Five (As of May 1, 2022)
  • 2022: Nine (As of May 1, 2021)
  • 2021: Five (As of May 1, 2020)
  • 2020: Three (As of May 1, 2019)
  • 2019: Three (As of May 1, 2018)
  • 2018: Seven (As of May 1, 2017)
  • 2017: 12 (As of May 1, 2016)
  • 2016: 16 (As of May 1, 2015)
  • 2015: Six (As of May 1, 2014)
  • 2014: Five (As of May 1, 2013)

It goes without saying Strickland won’t be Kentucky’s only 2026 commitment. Despite their misses elsewhere, there still are countless prospects the Wildcats could land.

The good news: The summer commitment window, when many college programs pick up pledges rapidly, is on the horizon. As Kentucky Sports Radio’s Adam Luckett noted after Wiggins’ commitment to Penn State, the Wildcats have 17 official visits slated in June alone. Perhaps one of those recruits will commit during — or shortly after — their visit.

One factor that can’t be downplayed about UK’s 2026 class, however, is the specter of the 2024 season. At 4-8 overall (1-7 SEC), it was Stoops’ worst record since his first season, when the Wildcats lost 10 of their 12 contests, including all eight in conference play. Few, if any, high school prospects are eager to jump on board after a display as desultory as Kentucky’s 2024 season was.

Putting last year’s record aside, here’s another hard truth: While high school signees traditionally have been the backbone of every program in college football, the transfer portal isn’t going anywhere.

Advertisement

“The normal team these days (is) going to turn over 35, 40, over 40 (players each offseason),” Stoops said after a 41-14 loss to Louisville in the 2024 season finale. “That is different. … I didn’t think or ever say that (the transfer portal) was perfect or the end-all, be-all. I said that last time: It’s not ‘end-all, be-all.’ You have to have a strong nucleus of some good players and then supplement it.”

Yet hope forever springs eternal in college football: Kentucky’s 2027 class already has matched the 2026 edition in terms of commitments.

Quarterback DJ Hunter was first in the fold for the Wildcats’ 2027 recruiting class, committing April 7.

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



Source link

Advertisement

Kentucky

Virginia woman arrested 30 years after newborn was found in a Kentucky landfill

Published

on

Virginia woman arrested 30 years after newborn was found in a Kentucky landfill


More than three decades after a newborn’s remains were discovered in a Kentucky landfill, investigators say advances in forensic science have finally led to an arrest.

Jennifer Cummins of Fairfax County, Virginia, was taken into custody on January 6 in connection with the death of an infant known for decades only as “Baby Jane Doe,” Kentucky State Police announced this week.

The case dates to 1991, when a sanitation worker discovered the remains of a baby girl at the former Richmond Landfill in Madison County, near Eastern Kentucky University.

Despite early investigative efforts, authorities were unable to identify the baby or determine who was responsible, and the case eventually went cold.

Advertisement

Kentucky State Police detectives recently reopened the investigation using modern forensic tools and updated investigative techniques. With assistance from the State Medical Examiner, it was determined that the infant was born alive and healthy before being placed in a dumpster on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University.

An arrest has been made in the death of a baby whose remains were found in 1991 by a sanitation worker at the former Richmond Landfill in Madison County, near Eastern Kentucky University

An arrest has been made in the death of a baby whose remains were found in 1991 by a sanitation worker at the former Richmond Landfill in Madison County, near Eastern Kentucky University (Google Maps)

The new information ultimately identified Cummins as a person of interest. In late 2025, the case was presented to a Madison County grand jury, which returned an indictment charging Cummins with murder.

“Even after decades of time that has passed, with the collaboration of new technologies, advancements, and persistence, we’ve been able to discover new leads in this case,” said Kentucky State Police Trooper Justin Kearney. “That’s why it’s so important for people to know these cases never go cold to us.”

Authorities have not released details about Cummins’ relationship to the child or the specific circumstances surrounding the infant’s death.

Advertisement

Kentucky State Police say the investigation remains active, and that investigators say they are still seeking the public’s help to resolve some unanswered questions.

Cummins is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center while awaiting extradition to Kentucky.



Source link

Continue Reading

Kentucky

Kentucky Transfer WR Hardley Gilmore IV Commits to Louisville

Published

on

Kentucky Transfer WR Hardley Gilmore IV Commits to Louisville


LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Montavin Quisenberry isn’t the only former Kentucky wide receiver to switch out blue for red this offseason.

Hardley Gilmore IV announced Thursday that he has committed to the Louisville football program.

He’s the fifth Wildcat to transfer to the Cardinals in this cycle, following Quisenberry, who committed earlier in the day, cornerback D.J. Waller plus defensive ends Jerod Smith II and Jacob Smith.

Advertisement

Gilmore is also the 11th portal pickup for UofL in the last three days, and their 15th transfer commitment overall in this cycle, beginning to offset 23 portal defections that UofL has seen so far. The 14-day transfer window officially opened up this past Friday, and is the only opportunity for players to enter following the removal of the spring window.

Advertisement

Despite Kentucky’s instability at quarterback this past season, Gilmore put together a productive 2025 campaign. Playing in all 12 games while starting five, the 6-foot-1, 165-pound receiver caught 28 passes for 313 yards and a touchdown. His reception and yardage total was second on the team to Kendrick Law.

The Belle Glade, Fla. native got immediate playing time as a true freshman in 2024. Appearing in seven games, Gilmore was able to haul in six passes for 153 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown vs. Murray State.

While Gilmore has shown high end potential on the field, he comes with some off-the-field baggage from last offseason. Last January after opting to transfer to Nebraska following his true freshman season, he was charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly punching someone in the face at a storage facility in Lexington. Then this past April, he was dismissed from the Huskers for unknown reasons, and wound up returning to Kentucky.

“Nothing outside the program, nothing criminal or anything like that,” Huskers head coach Matt Rhule said at the time regarding Gilmore’s dismissal. “Just won’t be with us anymore.”

Advertisement

Gilmore and Quisenberry are the first of likely multiple transfer pieces that Louisville will add to their wide receiver room. Between graduation and the portal, the Cardinals are losing six receivers – including Chris Bell & Caullin Lacy.

Advertisement

In their third season under head coach Jeff Brohm, Louisville went 9-4 overall, including a 4-4 mark in ACC play and a 27-22 win over Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl. The Cardinals have won at least nine games in all three seasons under Brohm, doing so for the first time since 2012-14.

More Cardinals Stories

Advertisement

(Photo of Hardley Gilmore IV: Jordan Prather – Imagn Images)

Advertisement

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook – @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X – @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram – @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X and @mattmcgavic.bsky.social on Bluesky





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Kentucky

Spotted lanternfly confirmed in 8 new Kentucky counties. About invasive insect

Published

on

Spotted lanternfly confirmed in 8 new Kentucky counties. About invasive insect


play

Advertisement
  • The invasive spotted lanternfly has been confirmed in eight new Kentucky counties in 2025, bringing the total to 16.
  • Native to China, these insects pose a significant threat to agriculture, including orchards, vineyards, and various trees.
  • Spotted lanternflies damage plants by feeding on them and leaving behind a waste product that encourages mold growth.
  • Officials advise residents to inspect their property for the bugs and their egg masses, especially around dusk.
  • Sightings in Kentucky should be reported to the Department of Forestry or the University of Kentucky.

Entomologists have confirmed spotted lanternflies in eight more counties in Kentucky during 2025, according to a recent announcement.

These include Fayette, Franklin, Harrison, Pendleton, Robertson, Scott, Trimble and Woodford. The invasive insect was first found in the commonwealth in October 2023, in Gallatin County, and spread to counties including Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Grant, Henry, Kenton and Owen in 2024.

Here’s what to know.

What is a spotted lanternfly?

In short, the spotted lanternfly is a moth-like bug that’s not supposed to be in the U.S. The bugs tend to be red with black and/or white spots on their wings, according to the Department of Agriculture.

They’re native to China and first showed up in the U.S. in 2014. They’ve mostly been found in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, the USDA reports, but they’ve also been found in Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia.

One of the things that makes them so risky as an invasive species is that the eggs are thought to travel well, on everything from packages being shipped to moving boxes on U-Hauls. 

Advertisement

Why are spotted lanternflies dangerous?

Spotted lanternflies can pose a major threat to the things such as orchards, vineyards and logging facilities. How? They tend to swarm and devour what they land on quickly, causing serious damage. 

Their “waste product” — known as “honeydew” — can also attract molds and other bugs that further damage plants.

They pose a threat, according to the USDA, to everything from almonds, apples and hops to maple, oak and pine trees and more.

Advertisement

Is the spotted lanternfly in Kentucky?

Yes. The Kentucky Office of the State Entomologist said in a post to Facebook that the spotted lanternfly was confirmed in eight new commonwealth counties during 2025.

The species has been located in 16 counties total — Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Grant, Harrison, Henry, Kenton, Owen, Pendleton, Robertson, Scott, Trimble and Woodford.

What to do about spotted lanternflies

The biggest thing you can do, according to the USDA, to help control the spread of the spotted lanternfly is to keep an eye out for them.

It is recommended that you inspect trees, plants and other surfaces on your property for bugs. It’s best to do that around dusk, the USDA says, because that’s when bugs tend to congregate, making them easier to spot.

Signs that a plant may be infected include the plant oozing, becoming moldy or developing a fermented odor, according to the USDA. You may also see a “buildup of sticky fluid” beneath the infected plant.

Advertisement

The agency also recommends you keep an eye out for egg masses on everything from plants to boxes that hold things such as holiday decorations and often sit unattended for much of the year. If you spot an egg mass, you should scrape it “into a plastic zippered bag filled with hand sanitizer, then zip the bag shut and dispose of it,” according to the USDA.

In Kentucky, you should report sightings to your Department of Forestry regional office or reach the UK at 859-257-7597 or forestry.extension@uky.edu. UK experts also ask that anyone who finds one send a picture with the location to reportapest@uky.edu.

Contributing: Mary Ramsey, The Courier Journal. Reach Marina Johnson at Marina.Johnson@courier-journal.com.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending