Tyran Stokes, 5-star forward and Kentucky target, announces college commitment
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Tyran Stokes will play for the Kansas Jayhawks next season.
Stokes, a 5-star prospect, announced his decision to play in Lawrence next year during Tuesday night’s edition of NBA Tip-off on ESPN. Stokes was choosing between finalists Oregon, Kansas and Kentucky, but ultimately chose to play for Bill Self and the Jayhawks.
This is a crushing blow for Mark Pope and his staff, who have spent months trying to land Stokes to be the centerpiece of the Wildcats’ 2026-27 roster. Stokes is the No. 1 overall high school recruit in this upcoming recruiting class, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.
Pope and the Wildcats will now have to pivot to build a roster around Washington transfer guard Zoom Diallo, who committed to UK earlier this month.
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Kentucky has lost most of the production off of its 2025-26 roster to the NBA Draft, other college programs or simply an exhaustion of collegiate eligibility. UK does have 3 transfers and 1 high school prospect currently committed for next year in addition to its returning scholarship players.
Despite losing out on Stokes, expectations will be high for Pope and the Wildcats next year as he enters Year 3 at the helm. Kentucky is just 20-16 in SEC play over his first 2 seasons in charge.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
