One of Kentucky’s top targets in the 2026 class is five-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. According to 247Sports composite rankings, Rippey Jr. is the 16th best player in the class and the second-best point guard. It was announced earlier today by Joe Tipton of On3 that Rippey Jr. will be taking an official visit to Kentucky this weekend. This will give Coach Pope and the staff a chance to make an impression on the elite point guard. Mark Pope and the Kentucky staff made a run at another point guard in Jason Crowe Jr., but he decided to head to Missouri, so now Kentucky is making the push after Rippey Jr. Kentucky has also shown a lot of interest in Tay Kinney, but over the last week or so, it seems like he is starting to lean toward Louisville. The Wildcats are in a good spot with the number one player in this class, Tyran Stokes, and if Pope was able to land Rippey Jr. and Stokes, this would be an elite class. Earlier this month, Rippey listed his top twelve schools, which included Kentucky, North Carolina
