UK dominates ESPN’s list of top recruiting classes in one-and-done era

Now that “The Last Dance” is over, we all need new sports topics to discuss other than speculating on the return of sports. Coming up with lists of random rankings seems to be the favorite angle taken by many, and ESPN came up with a really solid ranking on Thursday.

ESPN decided to rank the top 25 recruiting classes in the “one-and-done” era, covering the last 15 years. These rankings are based solely on rankings of players coming out of high school, and in no way reflect performance in college or any other level.

Out of the top 25 classes, John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats made the list 11 (!) times. Coach Cal has had 12 classes at Kentucky, and all but one of them came in at No. 24 or better on the list.

1. Kentucky - 2013

3. Kentucky - 2017

6. Kentucky - 2011

7. Kentucky - 2016

11. Kentucky - 2010

12. Kentucky - 2009

13. Kentucky - 2012

15. Kentucky - 2018

16. Kentucky - 2015

19. Kentucky - 2014

24. Kentucky - 2020

The No. 2 class on the list was the Duke class that included Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, and RJ Barrett. Duke ended up with six classes on the list, and North Carolina and UCLA each had two.

Notably, the only Kentucky class missing from the list was from this last season. Tyrese Maxey and company did not crack this top 25 list, but when they joined a relatively veteran Kentucky team it turned into something special.

Check out the entire list here and let us know what you think. Did ESPN get it right?