Not shocking, but a good sign for the Cats.
Mark Pope and his staff are starting to hone in on their top targets for the class of 2026 as the July live period begins to wrap up.
With the staff in the mix for plenty of the high level talent in the class, it appears a clearer picture of who could be a member of it is starting to take shape. One of those players is five-star point guard, Deron Rippey Jr.
After a scheduled visit to Lexington was reported last week, now the Kentucky Wildcats have also made his latest list cut.
Down to 12-schools also making the cut are North Carolina, Alabama, Duke, Louisville, Tennessee, Kansas, Indiana, Texas, Miami, North Carolina State, and Syracuse. Joe Tipton of On3 was the first to report the news.
NEWS: 2026 Top-20 recruit Deron Rippey Jr. has cut his list to 12 schools, he tells @Rivals.
The 6-2 point guard received over 40 offers. https://t.co/xMChIONQjd pic.twitter.com/mPvtXgjNcR
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) July 15, 2025
Rippey, a 6-2 and 175-pound point guard out of Blairstown (NJ), is considered a top-20 prospect in the 2026 class according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings.
Scheduled to make the trip to Lexington on August 1st, Rippey had good things to say about Kentucky and Coach Pope when asked by Tipton:
“Things are good with Kentucky. I’m about to officially visit them as well. So them just expressing insane interest in me. They told me that they want me to get to campus as soon as possible, so it’s definitely a loving relationship. Coach (Mark) Pope is definitely a very nice, kind person. He loves to chat. He loves to check in on me, so being around a guy like that is always great.”
With a ton of visits scheduled, it appears this recruitment still has a while to go. However getting the first visit is a plus when looking at the Cats chances.
Should be a fun one to watch.