John Calipari and his staff have been on a tear on the recruiting trail over the last few weeks. They’ve earned some key commitments and made up plenty of ground for some of the top prospects in the country.
This coming week, Calipari is expected to visit one of the top players in the class of 2022. According to Ben Roberts of the Herald-Leader and Next Cats, Calipari will visit Brandon Huntley-Hatfield this week.
Huntley-Hatfield is a 6-8 power forward from Clarksville, Tennessee who is currently enrolled at IMG Academy. He’s a Top-10 player in the Class of 2022 after reclassifying from the Class of 2021 earlier in the year. He has connections to the Big Blue Nation already as well, as he is close with Alex Poythress, who was a Wildcat from 2013-2016.
“One of the most impressive forward prospects in the 2022 class. He has good size for the position, a sturdy build and long arms. For his size and age, Huntley-Hatfield has an impressive skill level and is a capable shot maker from mid-range and three. He’s a tremendous talent and, with continued development, could be a one-and-done level recruit,” said Evan Daniels after scouting Huntley-Hatfield.
Brandon has the connections with Poythress, but he says UK has always been his “dream school”.
“Kentucky has always been my number one school growing up. For them to have interest in me, I’m really blessed. I feel like Kentucky has played a really big role in players’ development in the NBA. They’ve got a lot of guys to the league. I know a lot of schools can do that, but I just feel like Kentucky is one of those powerhouses and I feel like I want to be a part of that,” said Huntley-Hatfield about UK to The Herald-Leader at a recent Team USA Basketball Minicamp.
He’s only 16, but this is a kid that can grow to be a special player who seemingly loves the Wildcats already. Calipari sees that and is obviously jumping on his recruitment early. Huntley-Hatfield plans to visit for the Kentucky vs. Louisville game in December, which means there will be even more interaction between both sides before the year is out.
It’s early on, but you have to love the connections with and what he is saying about the Wildcats already.