New football obligations, Will Riley’s decision and the CWS

Good morning people! It was a big weekend in recruiting for the Kentucky football program and more good news could be on the way.

As of Friday evening, Kentucky, led by recruiting ace/associate head coach Vince Merg, has built enough momentum for the 2025 recruiting cycle. It’s the last major official visiting weekend of the summer, so it would be necessary to accomplish a handful of important goals. With three commits in less than 48 hours, the problems begin to mount for Marrow and company.

It started with a 6-foot-4, 255-pound EDGE Nicholas Smith from Georgia and committed to the ‘Cats’ on the first day of his official visit on Friday. Kentucky’s defensive line coach Anwar Stewart helped smooth the prospect under the radar. Smith also had offers from the likes of Cincinnati, UCF, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State and West Virginia.

Then, on Saturday, a pair of future ‘Cats’ made the decision to make Lexington their next home. Wide receiver Preston Bowman – who has been on the UK radar for more than three years now and just wrapped up his OV – was the first to show up, choosing Kentucky over recent offers from Michigan and Louisville. Ohio State simply offered him this morning, at. Don’t be surprised if the 6-foot-1, 195-pound pass catcher from Ohio sees a boost in ratings in the very near future.

And finally, the UCF cornerback commit DeMarcus Gardner, who made his official visit to Britain last weekend, completed the trio of new commitments by joining the Wildcats not long after Bowman made his decision. Another Georgia product, the three-star (No. 657 overall by the On3 Industry Ranking) defensive back, has been trending as a possible flip candidate for a while. Last night he finally pulled the trigger.

Now that the dust has settled, Kentucky now has 12 commits for the 2025 recruiting class. Could there be more on the way? Steve Wiltfong of On3 recently logged a few significant RPM favors the Wildcats to land two more talented four-star recruits.

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Will Riley announces college decision

Could Mark Pope land his first five-star high school recruit as Kentucky’s head coach?

Later this afternoon, five-star wing Will Riley is about to announce his college decision, choosing between Kentucky, Illinois, Alabama, Arizona and the New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s NBL. The talented 6-foot-1 scorer lit up the Nike EYBL circuit in the spring and cemented himself as a Top 15 prospect in the country.

Riley, a native of Canada, will hold his commitment ceremony in Ontario from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM EST. He will livestream the announcement on his Instagram page @Willyjball7. Riley will make official visits to Great Britain, Illinois and Alabama earlier this month. But while we make a decision, the Fighting Illini (powered by former Kentucky assistant Orlando Antigua) appear to be the frontrunners.

On3, 247Sports and Rivals have a total of eight picks recorded in favor of Riley landing at Illinois. The BBN will have to hope for a big surprise in a few hours if they want to see Riley appear in blue and white.

Texas A&M wins Game 1 of the CWS

While Kentucky fans would obviously prefer to see their team participate in the championship series, preferably the program – Texas A&M – would be the program – Texas A&M – that took down the Bat Cats on the road. And if the Aggies can beat the Tennessee Volunteers with that, then that’s just an added bonus.

In Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series on Saturday, Texas A&M used a five-run third inning to beat Tennessee 9-5. Texas A&M starting pitcher Ryan Prager – who Kentucky fans remember well – gave up two runs and eight hits in six innings, striking out six Tennesee batters along the way.

The two SEC programs face off again this afternoon with a championship on the line. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM EST on ESPN. Today we’re all Aggie fans.

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I’ve been in contact with Lamont Butler

With summer training underway, we’re slowly learning more about the 12 new Wildcats on Mark Pope’s debut roster at Kentucky. Yesterday, Britain helped introduce us to the transfer of San Diego State Lamont Butlera defensive stalwart best known for his game-winning shot in the 2023 Final Four.

Butler immediately hears trash talk from Kerr Kriisa, who claims he dropped 45 points on Butler during a match at the Maui Invitational (it was only 21, by the way). Listen to the Mic’d Up segment below and get to know one of the newest ‘Cats’ a little better.