Star recruit Cherif Millogo commits to Kentucky basketball

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Kentucky coach Mark Pope won the sweepstakes for 7-foot-5 center Cherif Millogo, one of the fastest-rising recruits in the class of 2027 rankings.

Millogo took an official visit to Kentucky in early October — his first visit of the recruiting process — and the Wildcats withstood recent official visits to BYU and Southern Cal to earn his commitment Wednesday morning.

He joins four-star forward Ryan Hampton in Kentucky's 2027 class, giving the Cats two prospects who are ranked in the top 25 by at least one recruiting service.

Millogo is ranked No. 45 nationally by 247Sports, though he's expected to be a major riser in the next update. On a recent episode of the 247Sports College Basketball Show hosted by Adam Finkelstein, national basketball director Eric Bossi suggested Millogo would see a considerable rankings bump soon.

"We've only seen him in limited minutes, and while we have him currently ranked in the mid-40s, that's more out of just not having seen enough of him to go on, but based on the little we've seen, he's got a chance to rise as high as anybody in the class, and certainly be a guy who contends for five-star status," Bossi said.

Millogo moved up to No. 11 in Monday's rankings update from Rivals.com, and ESPN recently moved the Burkina Faso native to No. 8 overall in the class and now lists him as the No. 2 center, trailing only former Kentucky target Lewis Uvwo, who committed to Providence last week.

Millogo attends high school at St. Francis Academy near Los Angeles. A few weeks ago, Inside Kentucky Basketball caught up with St. Francis head coach Todd Wolfson to discuss Millogo's visit to Lexington.

“He loved it," Wolfson said. "He was blown away. He was excited about it. They did a really good job, according to (Millogo). Super excited, loved the visit, loves Coach (Mark Pope). He could definitely see himself wearing a Kentucky jersey at some point.”

Millogo missed his sophomore year of high school while recovering from a torn ACL. He transferred from Cambridge ATS in Massachusetts to St. Francis before his junior season. Millogo returned to action last year, but the summer and early fall led to a new wave of recruiting activity.

Programs like Arkansas, Louisville, North Carolina, Kansas, Texas and Tennessee offered Millogo a scholarship. But Kentucky pushed hardest to get him on campus and landed the first official visit. It helped that new UK assistant coach Alfred Aboya also had a connection to Millogo through Luc Mbah a Moute, his college teammate at UCLA and Millogo's legal guardian.

“Sometimes he does things and I probably shouldn’t have my jaw dropped, but sometimes I do," Wolfson said. "Just the things he can do at his height and his frame. There’s not many like him. He’s kind of an anomaly."

The early signing period for players in the 2027 high school class begins Nov. 11.