Where UK recruits stand in new ESPN rankings for 2020 class

With the final pieces of next season’s basketball roster finally starting to come together, the primary focus of the UK coaching staff can now move solely to the class of 2020.

Along those lines, ESPN recently released their newest player rankings for 2020, and the Cats remain well positioned for numerous top recruits.

The highest ranked player with a Kentucky offer is Cade Cunningham, who came in at No. 2. Over the past several weeks, the 6-7 point guard has been separating himself amongst the other guards in the class of 2020.

However, it has also been rumored that Kentucky is falling behind in his recruitment as Oklahoma State remains out in front. . Based on his 247 Sports crystal ball, the Cowboys have a commanding lead with 90% of the predictions thus far.

Moving down the list, the Cats are still in good shape with several other top prospects, including No. 3 ranked Jalen Green. For a long time, Green was listed as the top player in the class of 2020 by most recruiting services. He is widely regarded as the best shooting guard and one of the top talents of any player his age.

Kentucky is a major player in his recruitment, as Joel Justus and the Cats got in on him early. It’s looking more and more like Green could be UK’s centerpiece commit in a class that is loaded with scorers.

Some other notable names from ESPN’s recruiting rankings are No. 4 Jalen Johnson, No. 7 BJ Boston, No. 8 Isaiah Todd, and No. 9 Scottie Barnes. My initial thoughts are that if players like Todd and Barnes are barely cracking the top 10, it really speaks to the depth that the class of 2020 has at the top.

So far, only one player in the top 25 has committed to a school. No. 15 Jeremy Roach has pledged to play for Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils.

So besides him, there is a lot of talent still up for grabs as Kentucky starts to piece together their 2020 recruiting class.

Two names that did not crack the top 10 in ESPN’s rankings, but should be remembered, are No. 11 Makur Maker and No. 19 Sharife Cooper. Kentucky is in the mix for both of those players, and each could very well see their ranking improved before it’s all said and done.

Who is the player that you want most in the class of 2020?