There’s the offseason and then there’s early July. News has slowed to a crawl as this week has gone on. Thankfully, some fireworks are on the horizon, and I’m not just talking about July 4th.
I’m tired of scrolling social media and news sites for story ideas, so join me for some late afternoon notes, why don’t you? We’re all just killing time until the long holiday weekend, after all.
Sunday could be a BIG day
In case you missed the news earlier, four-star quarterback Matt Ponatoski will announce his college decision on Sunday. The football and baseball star from Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller is down to Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, and Oregon. The Cats are still the frontrunners for the blue-chip prospect, who would easily be the jewel of Kentucky’s 2026 class.
It’s natural to be skeptical of football high school recruiting — especially at this juncture in the Mark Stoops era — but Ponatoski is the real deal. Landing him would be a big splash for the program, which is on a hot streak on the recruiting trail. Losing Vince Marrow to Louisville was jarring, but this would send a message that the staff is still capable of reeling in some big fish. Three-star pass-rusher Elijah Satchell will announce his decision on Sunday as well, setting up a big finale to the holiday weekend.
For more on Ponatoski, I’ll direct you to Adam Luckett’s excellent coverage of his recruitment, and last night’s episode of 11 Personnel — which features Cats Illustrated’s Justin Rowland, who is now part of the On3 family after Rivals’ move to the network this week.
Cheer on three Kentuckians on July 4th
What’s more patriotic than cheering on Team USA on July 4th? Eating as many hot dogs as you can in ten minutes. We’ll get both tomorrow when Jasper Johnson and Team USA play Canada in the FIBA U19 World Cup quarterfinals at 11:15 a.m. ET (YouTube), and Joey Chestnut’s triumphant return to the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest at Noon ET (ESPN2). If you add in Louisville native Tyran Stokes, that’s three Kentuckians in action on July 4th (Chestnut was born in Fulton, Kentucky).
Chestnut is back in the contest after a one-year ban and is the heavy favorite to reclaim his title from Patrick Bertoletti, who won last year’s contest. The world record remains 76 hot dogs and buns, set by Chestnut in 2021. Circa set the total number of dogs he’ll eat tomorrow at 70.5. His odds to win the contest are -1800.
We’ll be watching both events on KSBoard. Come join us before you head out to celebrate the Fourth.
The Kentucky Basketball Team is doing TikToks around Lexington
I don’t pretend to understand TikTok; I’m too old to try. That said, the Kentucky Basketball team seems to love it. Check out some of the videos the guys have made around town, dancing in front of some familiar landmarks. Inside the Joe Craft Center, Mo Dioubate’s outside shooting is looking pretty good.
@_jloweee_
@braydon.2 @Mo DaDon
@brando2wavy I’m not sharking at all actually
#UK #kentuckyhoops #fyp #viral #blowthisup #wv #viralvideo
Basketball recruiting picks back up next week
We’re in the midst of a dead period for basketball recruiting, but that changes soon. Next weekend is the first of two back-to-back evaluation periods. Mark Pope and Cody Fueger were in Switzerland earlier this week to watch Jasper Johnson and Kentucky’s targets on the USA U19 team; next week, the staff will be in Rock Hill, South Carolina, for the Adidas 3SSB Championships, and the week after, North Augusta for the Nike EYBL Peach Jam. KSR will have boots on the ground to cover both.
Kentucky has offered 14 players in the 2026 class and landed none; this month will be pivotal for prioritizing which prospects they want the most and learning more about the 2027 group. There could be some big news before then, which Jacob Polacheck teased on the latest episode of “Here Comes The Boom”:
It’s almost 5 p.m. in most of the state, so if your boss hasn’t let you off early for the long weekend, consider this your permission. The radio crew has the Fourth off, but the website crew never stops, so check in with us all weekend, and especially on Sunday.
The post UK Fans of the Day Want Pre-July 4th Notes appeared first on On3.