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The stakes ramp up at Kentucky

It was a relatively quiet day in the portal, but heading into a busy middle of the week, there’s no doubt that the stakes feel the highest at Kentucky.

The Wildcats have the type of talent currently on campus that could make them a preseason Top 10 team. They could also be completely out of the national picture if they don’t hit on the stars on campus.

First up, is the No. 1 high school player in America Tyran Stokes. Stokes has long believed to be a Kansas lean, but decided to take a last minute visit to Lexington (he’s originally from Louisville).

And the fans weren’t afraid to show him the love.

While Stokes’ visit took place Monday, it bled into what will be an eventful remainder of the week.

Here is who else is expected on campus this week:

BYU guard Robert Wright arrived on Monday night. He is believed by many to be the top guard in the portal after averaging 18 points and nearly five assists at BYU this season. It’s believed that his recruitment is essentially down to committing to Kentucky or returning to BYU, something that would have clear domino effects for both schools
Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman is also expected on campus later this week, in a recruitment that is looking like its down to Kentucky, UConn and Alabama. He is expected to also visit UConn this week, per Jeff Goodman.
Among the other names who are expected to visit Kentucky this week include Furman guard and NCAA Tournament darling Alex Wilkins (he went for 21 points in a tourney loss to UConn) and San Diego State big man Magoon Gwath.

Again, this week feels like “now or never” for Kentucky, which has three confirmed players returning and one more committed for the 2026-2027 season.

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It was an up-and-down Monday for new UNC head coach Michael Malone

It was an up-and-down Monday for new UNC coach Michael Malone, who got some positive recruiting news - but also some not-so-good as well.

First off, because we’re a glass is half full newsletter, let’s start with the positive: Malone landed the first portal commit of his time in Chapel Hill. That would be Virginia Tech transfer Neoklis Avdalas, who committed early in the day. Once seen as a potential first round pick in the 2026 draft, Avdalas had a solid freshman year for the Hokies, where he averaged 12.1 points and 4.6 assists. That included a late season 19-point, five assist performance in the Dean Dome in February.

Also on the positive front, UNC learned that forward Jarin Stevenson will come back for another season. The 6’10 forward averaged 8.1 points per game, but came on strong late - including seven double-figure scoring games in ACC play.

It wasn’t all good news for the Tar Heels though.

Derek Dixon an emerging guard who played his best basketball late (including 17 points in a loss to Duke in the season finale) announced that he’d go to Arizona.

And five-star commit Dylan Mingo re-opened his recruitment.

It’s worth noting, that Inside Carolina - arguably the most respectable Carolina outlet on the internet - seemed to hint that it was Carolina’s decision to move off the five-star guard from New York.

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Other news and notes from Monday

There was plenty more news across college hoops as visits and commits continue to ramp up:

Former Arkansas Razorback Karter Knox will visit Louisville on Tuesday. Knox’s visit comes just days after the Cardinals landed a pair of portal stars in Flory Bidunga and Jackson Shelstad.
An early list of schools for former UConn forward Eric Reibe includes BYU, Indiana and Kentucky.
St. John’s is in the middle of a busy portal week, as they are expected to host Cincinnati big man Moustapha Thiam. This comes as former Kentucky forward Mo Dioubate and Kansas State sharpshooter Abdi Bashir are expected on campus this week.
Derek Dixon wasn’t the only player to commit to Arizona, as former Washington guard JJ Mandaquit committed as well. Mandaquit is a former Top 50 recruit who played for Tommy Lloyd last summer on Team USA’s U-19 squad that took home gold
On the non-portal front, Arkansas star freshman Meleek Thomas announced he’s testing the NBA Draft waters. He averaged 15.6 points on 41 percent three-point shooting this year. If he does return to college it will be for the Razorbacks.