Breaking: Another top player decommits from Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats have lost a pledge in the class of 2025.

Running back Isaiah West decommitted from the Cats on Monday, according to 247 Sports.

This comes after West visited Ohio State over the weekend, and the Buckeyes received a 247 Sports prediction for the 4-star talent. He is ‘currently’ slated to officially visit Kentucky on June 7th and Ohio State on June 14th.

West, a 5-foot-11, 208-pound running back from Philadelphia (PA), received an offer from Kentucky in December and committed to the Cats in March.

He chose the Cats over offers from Wisconsin, Penn State, North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan State, and other schools, but the Buckeyes have now entered the equation.

247 Sports ranks West as high as 204th overall in the 2025 class, and sixth in the football-rich state of Pennsylvania.

Unfortunately, such things happen when you recruit among the big boys of college football.

 

 

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Mark Pope plans to use all 13 scholarships

Mark Pope, the first-year coach at Kentucky, has already secured a seven-man transfer class that is presently ranked fifth nationwide by 247Sports.

He’s signed ten scholarship players to the Wildcats’ 2024-25 roster.

But the effort is far from done.

Pope is still looking for a proven bucket-getter and is heavily recruiting North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier, BYU Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Jaxson Robinson, and Miami transfer Wooga Poplar. Pope has been to the NBA Draft Combine to scout Robinson, as well as the G League Elite Camp to scout Lanier and Poplar.

Looking to add frontcourt depth, the UK is now welcoming Fairleigh Dickinson transfer forward Ansley Almonor on an official visit.

Pope told CBS Sports’ college basketball insider Jon Rothstein that the aim is to employ all 13 roster spots.

 

 

“We have 10 scholarships right now. I have two very crucial pieces to offer. “The 13th scholarship is a floating piece,” Pope explained. “It could be suitable for a young player. It could be a position for a senior player who plans to redshirt. It could be a site for a project. It could be ideal for a high-risk guy. We’re particularly focused on filling the last two places. “It is a priority right now.”

UK assistant Cody Fueger echoed this idea during a Tuesday visit on Kentucky Sports Radio.

“I think we’ll get to 12 in the next few weeks, but we’ll absolutely fill all 13 scholarships. We’ll fill one and two and keep the third until it’s a no-brainer and we need someone. We’ll fill up this roster; we’ll just take our time with the 13th one. Something always changes. Wyoming’s coach recently accepted a position as an assistant at Texas Tech. You never know which European kid will want to play collegiate basketball later. Things are really fluid and evolving in the collegiate basketball situation right now.”

After losing all 13 scholarship players from last season to graduation, the transfer portal, or the NBA Draft, Pope believes starting over at Kentucky next season isn’t necessarily a terrible thing.

“This is the first year of the project. But the crew we’ve gathered has far more experience than the one we had at BYU last year. These are proven performers. They’ve made many appearances in the NCAA Tournament and hit game-winning jumpers to go to the national championship game. “Veterans, guys who have been playing at the highest level for a long time,” Pope remarked.

“It was terrifying, but it turned out to be a true godsend that we could start over here. We got to hand-pick players who fit exactly into the way we play. We aim to broaden the genre of games we played last year. I’m really happy with our roster right now. We still have a few of pretty crucial components to slot in. “On paper, I love it.”