UK basketball’s 2024 recruiting class came undone. Here’s what happened to each player.

cameron drummond

Wed, May 8, 2024, 7:59 a.m.·8 min read

Kentucky basketball’s roster for the 2024-25 season under new head coach Mark Pope continues to take shape. But, the dust has settled on at least one element of the Wildcats’ player group for next season.

All six players who were originally part of UK’s 2024 recruiting class under former head coach John Calipari have now made their new college decisions.

That recruiting group — which had ranked as the second-best best incoming group of freshmen in the nation, behind only Duke — looks vastly different now following Calipari’s departure to Arkansas and the hiring of Pope, who previously coached at BYU and Utah Valley and won a national championship with the Wildcats as a player in 1996.

Five of UK’s original six recruits from the class assembled by Calipari decommitted from Kentucky after Coach Cal left his post in early April. Only one of those original six recruits will play for Kentucky next season.

Pope has also added another first-year player to his still-evolving first UK roster.

With so many moving pieces involved, here’s a refresher on what happened to each of the six recruits who were supposed to play for the Wildcats next season.

Players listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Somto Cyril

Cyril, a 6-foot-10, 252-pound center, was the first player to commit to Calipari and Kentucky in the 2024 recruiting class when he did so last June.

He was one of five recruits who decommitted from the Wildcats after it became clear Calipari was leaving. Cyril was released from the national letter of intent he had signed to play at UK.

Late last month, Cyril announced he would be staying in the SEC and going to Georgia to play for coach Mike White.

Cyril — who said Calipari spoke to him about his decision to leave UK for Arkansas before that news became official — played several seasons with the Overtime Elite (OTE) program in Atlanta, which is the same program that helped produce one-and-done UK star Rob Dillingham.

Cyril was teammates at OTE with Karter Knox, another former 2024 UK recruit.

Originally from Nigeria, Cyril ranks as a four-star recruit and the No. 44 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Somto Cyril was the first member of Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class to commit to the Wildcats. Cyril will now play at Georgia, following UK’s coaching change. Adam Hagy/Overtime Elite

Boogie Fland

Fland — a 6-2 guard from just outside New York City — was the second player in the 2024 recruiting group to commit to Calipari and the Cats when he did so last October.

Fland decommitted from UK on April 15, well after Calipari was announced as the new head coach at Arkansas and less than a day after UK formally introduced Pope as its new head coach.

Like Cyril, Fland also was released from his previously signed national letter of intent with UK.

Late last month, Fland (who was a 2024 McDonald’s All-American) took a recruiting visit to Fayetteville and pledged again to play for Calipari in college, this time at Arkansas.

Fland is one of three former UK recruits from the 2024 recruiting class who will play at Arkansas for Calipari, along with Karter Knox and Billy Richmond. Two players from the 2023-24 UK basketball team, Zvonimir Ivisic and Adou Thiero, have also announced they will be transferring to Arkansas.

Fland ranks as a five-star recruit and the No. 19 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Boogie Fland was projected as Kentucky’s starting point guard for next season but instead has followed John Calipari to Arkansas. Spalding Hoophall Classic

Karter Knox

Knox — 6-6 small forward who played with Cyril at OTE this past season — was the final member of UK’s original 2024 recruiting class to commit to the Wildcats.

He did so in early March, just a few hours after Kentucky closed the regular season with a win at Tennessee. That proved to be the final win of Calipari’s tenure as the UK coach, as the Wildcats lost their first games in both the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament.

On April 22, Knox (who was a 2024 McDonald’s All-American) became the first former UK recruit to announce he would be following Calipari to Fayetteville.

Knox was only a verbal commit to UK, and hadn’t signed a national letter of intent with the Wildcats.

The Knox family holds extremely close ties to both Calipari and former UK assistant and Louisville head coach Kenny Payne, who is back on Calipari’s staff at Arkansas as an associate head coach. Both Calipari and Payne were on the Kentucky coaching staff when Knox’s older brother, Kevin, blossomed into a one-and-done college star and a lottery pick in the 2018 NBA draft.

Knox ranks as a five-star recruit and the No. 22 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Karter Knox was the last player to commit to Kentucky’s class of 2024 but the first to depart after John Calipari decided to move to Arkansas. Maria Lysaker/USA TODAY NETWORK

Travis Perry

Perry — a 6-2 in-state guard who is the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school boys basketball history — is the only original member of UK’s 2024 recruiting class who will stick with the Wildcats as the Calipari-to-Pope coaching transition occurs.

Perry was initially a surprise pickup for the Wildcats: Last November, Perry picked UK from a final list of schools that also included Alabama, Cincinnati, Ole Miss and Western Kentucky. He also signed a national letter of intent to play for the Wildcats last fall.

It never appeared likely that Perry, who won the Sweet 16 state championship this year with Lyon County High School, was going to waver from that decision.

Perry (along with his father and coach at Lyon County, Ryan) attended Pope’s introductory event as the UK basketball coach on April 14 at Rupp Arena wearing Kentucky gear. He spoke positively about the style of play that Pope ran at BYU and Utah Valley, and it seemed only a matter of time before Perry confirmed his commitment to the Cats with Pope as the head coach.

Perry (who is the 2024 Mr. Kentucky Basketball) announced April 22 that he would be sticking with Kentucky as his college choice.

Perry ranks as a four-star recruit and the No. 75 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Currently, Perry is one of two first-year players who will be on Kentucky’s roster next season. The other is Collin Chandler, a guard who was formerly signed to play for Pope at BYU.

Chandler was originally part of the 2022 recruiting class before electing to serve a two-year mission trip prior to his college basketball career.

KHSAA Sweet 16 state champion, 2024 Mr. Kentucky Basketball and Kentucky signee Travis Perry is honored while new Kentucky basketball head coach Mark Pope speaks during an introductory event at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Perry is the only original 2024 UK recruit who will play for Pope at Kentucky. Silas Walker/swalker@herald-leader.com

Jayden Quaintance

Quaintance — a 6-9 center — was viewed as the UK basketball recruit with the most long-term upside when he committed to Kentucky last November.

A modern-day big man, the 16-year-old Quaintance isn’t eligible for the NBA draft until 2026 due to his young age and was expected to be a two-year addition for the Wildcats.

Like Cyril and Fland, Quaintance signed a national letter of intent to play at Kentucky last fall and was released from that paperwork after Calipari left for Arkansas.

In his reopened recruitment, Louisville, Memphis and even a possible continued commitment to Kentucky all garnered buzz for Quaintance, who was a McDonald’s All-American this year.

On April 29, Quaintance announced he would be playing at Arizona State next season.

Quaintance ranks as a five-star recruit and the No. 8 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He was set to be Kentucky’s top-ranked recruit in this year’s group of prospects.

Jayden Quaintance was the highest-rated prospect in Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class before deciding to leave for Arizona State. Adam Hagy/Overtime Elite

Billy Richmond

Richmond — a 6-5 small forward — was the final player from UK’s 2024 recruiting group to decommit from the program following the coaching shuffle.

He previously had committed to Kentucky in December, but hadn’t signed a national letter of intent to play at the school.

On April 26, Richmond announced he would be following Calipari to Arkansas and play for the Razorbacks. This announcement came after Richmond took a recruiting visit to the Arkansas program.

Richmond is another player with strong family ties to Calipari: Richmond’s father, Billy Richmond Jr., played for Calipari at Memphis in the early 2000s after transferring to the Tigers’ program from Vanderbilt.

Richmond, a Memphis native, closed his high school career at Camden (New Jersey) High School and was high school teammates with two members of last season’s UK team, Aaron Bradshaw and D.J. Wagner.

Bradshaw transferred to Ohio State earlier this offseason. Wagner is still in the NCAA transfer portal.

Richmond ranks as a five-star recruit and the No. 25 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite.