2027 Rankings Primer: What to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We expect to launch our inaugural 2027 rankings on Monday. With 70 players already on our list, we're off to a good start but it's so early that there are definitely dozens of quality players who will miss the list because we haven't seen or heard about them yet. Keep in mind, it's only a starting point for this class and will grow and develop over the next 4 years. Here's a look at some storylines going into the rankings release on Monday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>The Race for #1:</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are several prospects who can make a case to be ranked as the top prospect when rankings hit on Monday. [player_tooltip player_id='1745592' first='Jack' last='Logsdon'], [player_tooltip player_id='2026991' first='Tyce' last='Simpson'], [player_tooltip player_id='2122438' first='Montez' last='Gay'], [player_tooltip player_id='2091803' first='LJ' last='Holman'], [player_tooltip player_id='1745586' first='Caleb' last='Rimmer'] and others could all make a rightful claim to the top spot to start these rankings. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>The Impact of Transfers (Already):</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With Obinna Ekezie already on his way out of Kentucky and headed to Prolific Prep in California, a top 3 prospect is already out of the Commonwealth and off these rankings. We're also waiting to see if big man [player_tooltip player_id='2039670' first='Precious' last='Sam'] will actually enroll at Ballard after playing summer ball with the Bruins. Sam has multiple D1 offers already and would be a top prospect if he does indeed end up at Ballard (or anywhere else in Kentucky).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Talented Group of Mountain Prospects:</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There was a strong Mountain presence at our Freshman Showcase last weekend and there looks to be some serious depth in the area in this class. [player_tooltip player_id='1745583' first='Braxton' last='Keathley'], [player_tooltip player_id='2122449' first='Brock' last='Woods'], [player_tooltip player_id='2120266' first='Trent' last='Cole'], [player_tooltip player_id='2121733' first='Brody' last='Little'], [player_tooltip player_id='1745584' first='Austin' last='Slone'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1745585' first='Hayden' last='Perry'] are just a few kids from the mountains who will be in the rankings on Monday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Quality Size:</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is some legitimate size in this class already, which is rare for Kentucky. [player_tooltip player_id='1745594' first='Maddox' last='Hager'], [player_tooltip player_id='2122449' first='Brock' last='Woods'], [player_tooltip player_id='2046736' first='Wyatt' last='Rickard'], [player_tooltip player_id='2122448' first='Landon' last='Henning'], [player_tooltip player_id='1751496' first='Ferlandas' last='Wright'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2127278' first='Luke' last='Armstrong'] are all 6'5+ already with potential to keep growing. It usually takes a while for Kentucky to develop some solid bigs but this class has a little bit of a head start.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->