The Kentucky Wildcats have been able to gain commitments from big names like Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson. However, they barely missed out on Caleb Wilson, who is one of the premier players of the class of 2025.
Both Johnson and Moreno rank between 20 and 30 in the upcoming recruiting class, per 247 Sports. Wilson is a fringe top-10 player, currently at No. 9. For a long time, he had Kentucky on his radar, and it all came down to the Cats against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Unfortunately, the 5-star talent took the latter and will be playing the majority of his college games in Chapel Hill. That was expected to happen for the last week after momentum seemingly shifted to the Tar Heels.
However, the reality is momentum in favor of UNC long before that. According to 247 Sports’ Travis Branham, Wilson had his mind made up for over a month.
Wilson is playing for Holy Innocents Episcopal School out of Atlanta, so he didn’t necessarily have many ties with North Carolina or Kentucky.
That said, as a senior, Wilson is averaging 18.9 points and hauling down 11.3 rebounds per game in 27 minutes of action, per MaxPreps. He’s been a star at the high school level and is expected to make that jump to the college ranks fairly easily.
As for the Wildcats, they’ll have to look elsewhere for a standout forward to add to the 2025-26 basketball roster.
On to the next one.
Sources: Caleb Wilson’s recruitment shifted from Kentucky to North Carolina over a month ago and by the end of December he gave the Tar Heels staff a silent commitment and never wavered after giving his word.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) January 24, 2025
