Kentucky Wildcats Football: Top 25 Recruiting Class for Mark Stoops

With National Signing Day all but wrapped up for the Kentucky Wildcats, Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow, along with the rest of the coaching staff, put the finishing touches on a top 25 recruiting class.

According to Rivals.com, the Wildcats are sitting at #25, right in front of the Louisville Cardinals at #26. What other teams did the ‘Cats beat out? Mississippi State, Arkansas, Michigan State, Baylor, and Texas, just to name a few.

Thanks to four star commits like Lynn Bowden, Joshua Paschal, JaVonte Richardson, and Tyrell Ajian, UK finished with one of their best ever class under coach Stoops.

Last season, the ‘Cats were #29, in 2015 they were #34, in 2014 they were #18, and in 2013 they were #29. As you can see, they have been hovering in the top 30’s in the Stoops era outside of 2015.

It cannot be understated how valuable the end of the season was for this team. With seven wins, a victory over a top 25 Louisville Cardinal team at their house with the Heisman Trophy winner on their team, and a New Years Eve Bowl, Stoops was able to keep the class together and even make a late recruiting run in December and January.

The ‘Cats had early decommits at the beginning of the season with guys like Russ Yeast, Mac Jones, and Michael Warren dropping out, but they recovered nicely and put an exclamation point on 2016.

The class is heavy on offensive athletes and defensive linemen, two areas that are always in need.

Now the challenge is to keep momentum rolling in 2017 as most of the team is returning and expectations are higher than ever to again reach a bowl game.

Update: The Wildcats have the twenty-ninth best recruiting class according to 24/7. They have the thirty-third best class according to Scout.com. I’ll stick with Rivals.