Kentucky Basketball Recruiting: Positive update on Jaden McDaniels

Five-star power forward Jaden McDaniels is one of the fastest-rising stars in the class of 2019, and he loves Kentucky, but he hasn’t gotten an offer yet.

As the No. 8 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 4 power forward on 247 Sports’ rankings, McDaniels is one of the top front court players in the country. He has seven offers, six from Power 5 conferences. But there are still better options (or they’re at least better options as of right now) that Kentucky are pursuing.

Thanks to a lot of strong front court players that the Wildcats are in contact with (James Wiseman, Vernon Carey Jr. and Matthew Hurt, for example), McDaniels is perhaps not a top contender for a UK scholarship.

But even with that said, he’s still a rising star in his class and he’s considered Kentucky a dream school, so some are still surprised he doesn’t have an offer. But Kentucky Sports Radio’s TJ Walker says that the groundwork is being laid for an offer to be extended in the future.

I can’t say if McDaniels truly prefers UK, but the Cats are talking with McDaniels and Kentucky has been in contact a couple times a week for several weeks. I expect UK to continue to develop a relationship and assuming McDaniels continues to grow as a player (no player has had a bigger rise this spring) then I think UK eventually offers.

If McDaniels continues to rise, there’s little doubt that Kentucky will offer and thus become a major player in his recruitment.

As of right now, his only non-Power 5 suitor is the favorite in his Crystal Ball, as San Diego State is the leader for the 6-8 forward.

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