Nathaniel Cheeks

Kentucky has now had visits scheduled with players ranked 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 25, 27, 28 and 63 throughout the 2026 Cycle. Some have already committed elsewhere or canceled but the Wildcats certainly haven’t been shy this cycle.

Losing to Bill Self on the guy Self wanted most is not really a knock on Mark Pope. Putting your entire Class of 2026 recruiting focus on trying to get the guy Self wanted and everyone told you he would probably get … is a mind-boggling mistake.

Some executives believe Billy Donovan could be intrigued by the idea of coaching the University of Kentucky, if he takes a year off. Kentucky pursued Donovan before hiring Mark Pope, who enters next season on the hot seat. Donovan began his coaching career at Kentucky in 1989.

The steep prices paid by the Bengals for Dexter Lawrence underscores two important points about this draft class: This is not a strong draft at the top. The lack of blue chippers is well-established. This draft is extremely thin at defensive tackle.

Draft week blockbuster: The Giants are trading three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals in a deal that will include the 10th overall pick going to New York, per ESPN sources. The Giants now head into Thursday night with the 5th and 10th overall picks.

Big for BYU. Had been trending this way in the past 20 hours. My understanding is Wright's camp wanted to *really* test the market on a bigger NIL number after BYU wouldn't budge, but amid all that hoopla, Wright wasn't really that eager to play at a third school in three years.

Billy Donovan wanted to wait until end of season to make a decision on North Carolina and one source close to Donovan felt as though he might have taken it. But source said that new North Carolina AD Steve Newmark panicked after Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May spurned the Tar Heels.

Hearing that both Mark Pope and John Calipari have privately vented that UK’s fanbase has negatively affected recruiting since 2020. Other schools use the fanbase and the negativity against UK and it has cost multiple elite recruits.