Welcome to Inside Kentucky Basketball. Here’s what you can expect
Introducing a new website dedicated to independent coverage of the UK men's basketball team from former Herald-Leader beat writer Ben Roberts.
Kentucky's class of 2028 recruiting targets
The following players are currently uncommitted and have reported on social media that they received an offer from Kentucky. Click on a player's name for more information about his recruitment. This page does not include UK commitments, which can be found here.
Point guard
Liam Mitakaro
- Ht.-Wt.: 6-4, 175 pounds
- Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta (plays at Bella Vista Prep in Scottsdale, Arizona)
- 247Sports ranking: No. 33 nationally
- Intel: Kentucky assistant Cody Feuger offered a scholarship to Mitakaro in June. The 6-foot-4 guard was one of several prospects who head coach Mark Pope evaluated during Peach Jam. Mitakaro averaged 16.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and shot nearly 40% from the floor, including 32.4% from beyond the arc. He is teammates with 2027 target Paul Osaruyi at Bella Vista Prep.
Shooting or combo guard
Brady Pettigrew
- Ht.-Wt.: 6-3, 185 pounds
- Hometown: Bolingbrook, Illinois
- 247Sports ranking: No. 18 nationally
- Intel: Pettigrew has knocked out many of his official visits early in the recruiting process. As of the beginning of October, Pettigrew had already taken official visits to Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Florida, with officials yet to come to programs such as Kentucky, North Carolina, BYU and Arkansas.
Small forward
Evan Willis
- Ht.-Wt.: 6-7, 180
- Hometown: Santa Ana, California (plays at Utah Prep in Hurricane, Utah)
- 247Sports ranking: No. 4 nationally
- Intel: Known for his unique posts when announcing offers on social media, Willis emerged as a top-five player over the summer. Willis has a slender build, but he's regarded as one of the best overall athletes in his class and could be a top defender early in his career. He recently competed in the USA Men's Junior National Team minicamp in Colorado Springs.
DJ Okoth
- Ht.-Wt.: 6-6, 180 pounds
- Hometown: Bartlett, Tennessee
- 247Sports ranking: No. 22 nationally
- Intel: Another supremely gifted athlete, Okoth received an offer from the Wildcats in late July. He was in Lexington for an unofficial visit for Big Blue Madness in early October. In addition to Kentucky, in-state programs Tennessee and Vanderbilt are high on Okoth's list.
Power forward
Benjamin Berrouet
- Ht.-Wt.: 6-7, 240 pounds
- Hometown: McKinney, Texas
- 247Sports ranking: No. 21 nationally
- Intel: Berrouet played with Latvia over the summer in the U16 Eurobasket in Romania, leading the team to a 7-0 record while averaging 23 points and 15 rebounds per game. Berrouet also averaged 20 points per game on the EYBL circuit. The Texas native will visit Kentucky officially on Oct. 23. He also has visits planned for UCLA and Illinois during the fall, and Baylor in March.
Center
Yann Kamagate
- Ht.-Wt.: 7-0, 230 pounds
- Hometown: Burkina Faso, West Africa (plays at St. Francis in La Canada Flintridge, California)
- 247Sports ranking: No. 1 nationally
- Intel: Kamagate was the first player to report an offer from the Wildcats in the 2028 class. Kentucky offered in May 2026 after assistant Mikhail McLean scouted him on the Adidas 3SSB circuit. It's been a relatively quiet recruitment to this point, but as expected, all of the heavy-hitters in college basketball will be involved.
Erik Dampier Jr.
- Ht.-Wt.: 6-10, 230 pounds
- Hometown: Madison, Mississippi
- 247Sports ranking: No. 8 nationally
- Intel: The son of former Mississippi State star and first round draft pick Erik Dampier, Dampier Jr. is on track to be one of the best centers in his class. He received an offer from Kentucky in June and has offers from most of the biggest programs in the South. Dampier Jr.'s only official visit thus far was to Mississippi State, which took place the weekend of the Bulldogs' victory over Missouri. It's not much of an inside track, but Pope and Dampier were teammates for just a few months in 1997 before the Indiana Pacers traded Dampier to the Golden State Warriors for Hall of Famer Chris Mullin.
Bamba Touray
- Ht.-Wt.: 7-0, 205 pounds
- Hometown: Senegal, West Africa (Plays at Prolific Prep in Florida)
- 247Sports ranking: No. 5 nationally
- Intel: A 7-footer with fluid movement, Touray received an offer from Kentucky in late July. His only official visit so far was to Georgia in September. Florida State is another program with some early traction for Touray, though his recruitment hasn't heated up yet.