LEXINGTON, Ky. – The deep and talented Kentucky men’s basketball 2020 signing class has been crowned the consensus No. 1 group in the country.
In recent weeks, the three top recruiting services – ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals – have all tabbed the Wildcats’ haul the No. 1 class in their final team rankings. The Recruiting Services Consensus Index, which tallies major recruiting rankings and plugs them into a formula to calculate a consensus ranking, has also ranked it the top class in the country.
With two players ranked consensus top-10, five-star prospects and all six of the scholarship signees tabbed four- or five-star players, UK reeled in its 12th straight top-three signing class under head coach John Calipari. Of those 12 classes, eight have been tabbed No. 1 in in the final rankings by at least one of the three major recruiting services, the best mark of any team and coach.
Final Team Recruiting Rankings in the Calipari Era
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| Rivals | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 247Sports | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| ESPN | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| RSCI | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
BJ Boston, a consensus five-star prospect, is ranked the highest in UK’s class. The 6-foot-7 guard out of Norcross, Georgia, is tabbed as high as No. 4 in the Rivals rankings. Boston is UK’s highest rated signee since Skal Labissière in 2015 (No. 1 in Rivals, No. 2 in ESPN and 247Sports).
Terrence Clarke, a 6-7 guard, is just behind Boston in the rankings. The Boston native is also a consensus five star and is ranked as high as No. 7 by Rivals.
Also picking up five-star ratings by at least one of the three major services were guard Devin Askew, who earned the elite status from ESPN, and forward Isaiah Jackson, who earned the distinction from 247Sports.
Wing Cam’Ron Fletcher and forward Lance Ware were consensus four-star prospects.
Isaac DeGregorio, who rounds out the seven-man class, is unranked. As a walk-on, he did not factor into the recruiting rankings by the respective services.
| ESPN | 247Sports | Rivals | RSCI | |
| Devin Askew | No. 24 | 5 stars | No. 35 | 4 stars | No. 31 | 4 stars | No. 28 |
| BJ Boston | No. 6 | 5 stars | No. 5 | 5 stars | No. 4 | 5 stars | No. 4 |
| Terrence Clarke | No. 9 | 5 stars | No. 9 | 5 stars | No. 7 | 5 stars | No. 8 |
| Cam’Ron Fletcher | No. 59 | 4 stars | No. 76 | 4 stars | No. 46 | 4 stars | No. 52 |
| Isaiah Jackson | No. 32 | 4 stars | No. 32 | 4 stars | No. 26 | 5 stars | No. 26 |
| Lance Ware | No. 44 | 4 stars | No. 41 | 4 stars | No. 34 | 4 stars | No. 39 |
Kentucky has signed 59 top-50 recruits, 46 top-25 players and 25 top-10 players (according to Rivals) in what will now be Calipari’s 12 recruiting classes at Kentucky.
UK’s group of newcomers is even more impressive when one includes the Wildcats’ three transfers. Olivier Sarr, a high-impact forward at Wake Forest who averaged 13.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks last season, has applied for a waiver for immediate eligibility after a recent coaching change at his former school. Davion Mintz, after graduating in May from Creighton, will be eligible this season and is expected to provide valuable depth and experience at the guard position. Jacob Toppin, as an incoming sophomore from Rhode Island, will have three years of eligibility starting in the 2021-22 season.
The group will be counted on immediately to fill a major roster overhaul. The Wildcats are bidding farewell to eight of their top nine scorers from a season ago, including all five starters. UK will be tasked with replacing 94% of its scoring from last season – most of the Calipari era – 92.4% of its minutes, 84.4% of its rebounds, 92.0% of its assists and 91.5% of its blocks.
The lone major returning contributor from last season will be sophomore forward Keion Brooks Jr., who averaged 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in 31 appearances, including six starts. Dontaie Allen, a highly touted signee in the 2019 class, is also back but redshirted last season as he recovered from a knee injury from high school.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.