UK Recruiting: More info on Ashton Hagans’ reclassification process

Ashton Hagans’ commitment to the Kentucky Wildcats gives John Calipari a top 10 talent, but we’re not sure what year he’ll get him.

Hagans is a 2019 recruit, but he’s got a chance of reclassifying into 2018. In an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio, Hagans’ AAU coach Chris Williams said he will make that decision if he gets the chance.

“As of right now Ashton is still 2019. By the end of the summer we’ll have the option to do 2018 or do 2019. But as of right now he’s a 2019 kid,” Williams said. “He’s just focusing on getting his schoolwork done. That’s it. If he gets his schoolwork done he will be able to make that decision in maybe July.”

Regardless of when Hagans joins the Wildcats, he’s excited to do so.

“He grew up being a John Wall and a Rondo fan,” Williams said. “His dad always wanted Ashton to be that typical type of point guard where he’s a dog on defense but a pass-first point guard on offense.”

Hagans also spoke about the decision to pick UK with a blog post on USA Today High School Sports.

Hagans addressed a range of topics in his blog, and his biggest talking point was Kentucky’s fan base.

“I want to start out by giving BBN a shoutout and everyone that supported me throughout this process,” Hagans writes. “It’s really a dream come true! Man! BBN is the best fan base period! They show so much love it’s crazy. I had to turn my phone off earlier today because it was going so crazy.”

Hagans also talked about his chances of reclassifying to 2018, which is now a huge deal for Kentucky.

“Everyone wants to know if I’m coming to 2018 now that I’m officially committed to Kentucky and the answer is that it’s a possibility,” Hagans says. “It’s still up in the air right now; I just have to see how I finish out the school year. Right now I’d put it at about 50/50. If I do come to 2018 I’m confident that I’ll be able to play with everyone in the class ... If I do reclass to 2018 I know that we’ll have the type of team that can win a national title.”

Hagans is currently the No. 6 player in the class of 2019, and the No. 1 point guard on 247 Sports’ Composite. We’ll see where he ends up on the rankings lists if he reclassifies.

Hagans also talked about the fact that his commitment was actually five days ago, when John Calipari and company came in for an in-home visit.

“We talked for hours and he just laid out everything about me and my game and how I would fit in there,” Hagans wrote. “He gave me things that I needed to work on and told me what he loved about what I do too.

“I was excited, I just told Coach Cal that I would love to be a part of the organization. I told them right before they left and they were all really happy. They just reassured me that they were always on my side with everything and that I was family.”

Hagans also talked about idolizing Isaiah Briscoe and John Wall when they played at Kentucky, so he wanted to be the next Kentucky point guard.

Hagans, a five-star prospect, is the number six player in the class of 2019, and the number one point guard, according to the 247 Sports composite.