Jacob Toppin commits to Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats have landed a commitment from Rhode Island transfer Jacob Toppin. He made the announcement Thursday on Twitter:

This was a very fast recruitment, as Toppin announced his decision to transfer earlier this week, then cut his list to three finalists on Wednesday, which included the Oregon Ducks and Iowa State Cyclones.

Toppin, a 6-8, 190-pound forward, averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 30 games as a freshman, including five games in double figures. He was originally a three-star small forward in the Class of 2019 with offers from Rhode Island, Cal Poly, Stony Brook, Central Connecticut State and Quinnipiac.

Toppin potentially being eligible next season will depend on when possible changes to the NCAA’s transfer rules take effect, as a vote to approve the one-time transfer rule is set for May and could apply to the 2020-21 college basketball season.

Kentucky certainly needs help in the frontcourt next season, though Toppin is viewed as more of a combo forward who will play on the wing a lot. He’s going to need to bulk up to be able to handle the physicality of a Power 5 conference like the SEC, so this could be a multi-year development situation where he doesn’t have a big role until 2021 or beyond.

Jacob is the younger brother of Dayton forward and national player of the Year Obi Toppin. He also joins Davion Mintz (Creighton) as transfers to pick Kentucky this offseason, and they’re still in the hunt for Purdue grad transfer Matt Haarms.

Here are some limited highlights of the younger Toppin in action:

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