It may seem like a quiet time in the college basketball world, but a lot is happening behind the scenes. Teams are going through summer workouts and coaches are grinding on the high school recruiting trail, hoping to land elite prospects for the 2027-28 campaign.
Thus far, only 23 of the top 100 players in the Class of 2027 (per the 247Sports Composite) have announced their commitments. Expect that number to spike in the coming months as prospects take official visits and schools turn up the heat on their pursuits.
With the AAU season over, here’s a look at where some of the nation’s top colleges stand on the recruiting front.
Kentucky’s big push
Kentucky has struggled to land prize recruits in the Mark Pope era, but the program scored a big win early in the 2027 cycle when five-star guard Ryan Hampton committed on June 7. Hampton is the highest-ranked recruit (No. 16 in the 247Sports Composite) to pick the Wildcats since Pope took over in 2024. “I think Kentucky was the best choice for me because of how much of a family they are,” Hampton told Hoops HQ. “Coach Pope, Coach Mo Williams and Coach Mikhail McLean recruited me hard after they offered me, and when I went on my visit, it was like no other. It just made sense to commit.”
“When you look at Kentucky, it’s a blue blood and it’s top of the food chain. And I think Ryan being a five-star is top of the food chain,” added Rod Hampton, Ryan’s father. “But the biggest deal was their development.” Rod has also been friends with assistant Mo Williams, who joined the UK staff in April, for the past 15 years.
As one of the only five-stars off the board, Hampton has become a valuable asset for Kentucky in the recruiting game. He has relationships with many of the country’s top prospects — through AAU, USA Basketball and various camps — and has been pitching them on joining him in Lexington. “You wouldn’t believe how many guys he’s talking to and how many guys have called him,” Rod said.
Among the UK targets Hampton knows well are 6-foot-7 wing DeMarcus Henry (No. 3 in the 247Sports Composite), 6-foot-9 forward Paul Osaruyi (No. 11) and 6-foot-10 center Lewis Uvwo (No. 6), his teammate on this year’s EYBL circuit. He is also acquainted with 6-foot-5 wing Jordan Page (No. 10) and 6-foot-11 big man Darius Wabbington (No. 15), though he hasn’t spoken with them directly about the recruiting process yet.
Henry, Osaruyi and Wabbington all plan to take official visits to Kentucky in the near future. “Ryan, that’s my guy,” Henry told Hoops HQ. “Great guy, great player. We were talking at the JT Camp and he was like, ‘Come to Kentucky!’ I was like, ‘I might, I might.’”
While Kentucky has experienced a few down years on the high school recruiting trail, its reputation hasn’t suffered. “They have the most players that went to the league out of Kentucky,” Ryan said. “Obviously Coach Calipari left and now Coach Mark Pope is there, and I think he’s made a big impact when he’s been there and just overall wants the best for you. I think he’s the best coach in college basketball.”
Houston builds early momentum
With the new five-for-five rule going into effect at the start of the 2026-27 campaign, many high-majors are becoming less invested in the high school level. Not Houston. As assistant coach Kellen Sampson told Hoops HQ during the Nike EYBL Peach Jam last week, “There is no cleaner and easier way to build a program than getting your high school recruiting right. You can build a great team with the portal, but if you’re tasked with building a great program, it starts and ends with your ability to evaluate and recruit high school.”
The Cougars landed their first Class of 2027 prospect on Wednesday: four-star Oneal Delancy. The 6-foot-2 combo guard, ranked No. 46 in the 247Sports Composite, helped the Florida Rebels win the Peach Jam title, averaging 15.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in the tournament. “I just think Oneal’s a tough kid — if I was to choose a school for him, I’d send him to Kelvin Sampson at the University of Houston,” Gary Clemons, one of Delancy’s former AAU coaches, told Hoops HQ shortly before he announced his decision. “I think he fits that mold so well, because he’s fearless and he has this grit to him.”
Delancy’s commitment gives Houston considerable momentum as it continues to pursue high-level prospects. One of the program’s new targets is four-star Jeremy Jenkins (No. 67), a 6-foot-9 power forward who played for a loaded Nightrydas squad on the EYBL circuit. Jenkins had previously narrowed his list to 10 finalists but reopened his recruitment when more schools, including UH, entered the picture. Another four-star big man, 6-foot-7 forward Triston Hawthorne (No. 92), told Hoops HQ that he is planning to take an official visit to Houston sometime in the fall.
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With the AAU season coming to an end, Class of 2027 recruits like five-star DeMarcus Henry are preparing to take visits and trim their lists
Iowa State’s impressive haul
While other high-majors clash over top prospects, Iowa State is already in great position in the 2027 cycle. The Cyclones currently have the No. 1-ranked recruiting class after earning commitments from three four-star prospects: 6-foot-6 guard Josiah Harrington (No. 47), 6-foot-7 forward Donovan Davis (No. 49) and 6-foot-6 wing Jack Kohnen (No. 89). That TJ Otzelberger secured that haul before July speaks volumes about the program’s reputation and its dedication to high school recruiting.
Harrington committed almost two years ago, having been sold right away by ISU’s family environment and how invested the staff was in him. He and Otzelberger have built a very strong relationship and continue to talk multiple times per week. “He’s more than a coach to me already,” Harrington told Hoops HQ.
When Davis visited Ames in April, it immediately felt like home. Otzelberger sees the versatile big man filling a role similar to former Cyclones star Joshua Jefferson. “That was kind of TJ’s main focus when he was recruiting me,” Davis told Hoops HQ. “That’s who they were comparing me to. They showed me some of his clips and my clips and how they’re the same. I could really see it.” Davis turned a lot of heads at Peach Jam, averaging 13.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from three for Team Herro.
Kohnen, who played alongside Davis on Team Herro, committed in June during a break in the AAU season. “Iowa State was really the first big-time program that offered me, and so we’ve had a relationship going on for almost two years,” he said. “So just the comfortability I felt with the program, and then the plan they had for me was just so (well) laid-out and thought through that it provided comfort for me in my decision.”
With those three on board, Iowa State has a tremendous foundation to build around for 2027-28. Under Otzelberger, the program has established itself as a true powerhouse in the Big 12 — and shows no signs of slowing down. “What TJ has been telling me about the team (and) his plan for next year with me, Jack and Josiah, it’s a really good plan,” Davis said. “And I think that we have a chance to compete for a Final Four and even a championship.”
Louisville contending for top guards
Louisville continues to trend upward in the Pat Kelsey era. Fresh off a season in which his roster featured a lottery pick in Mikel Brown Jr. and a second-round selection in Ryan Conwell, Kelsey thrived in the portal, adding center Flory Bidunga from Kansas and guard Jackson Shelstad from Oregon. The Cardinals also signed highly coveted Class of 2027 prospect Obinna Ekezie Jr., a 7-foot-1 center out of Southeastern Prep who reclassified to 2026.
Five-stars like Ekezie have spoken highly of Louisville, praising the culture that Kelsey has built since arriving in 2024. Guard prospects have specifically referenced how Kelsey gives his floor generals plenty of freedom to operate in his system. Some of the program’s biggest targets in the 2027 cycle are top-tier guards: King Gibson (No. 5), Reese Alston (No. 8) and Cayden Daughtry (No. 9).
There remain a lot of question marks surrounding Alston’s recruitment. It has been hinted that the 6-foot-2 point guard — the son of former NBA player Rafer Alston — could reclassify to 2026, and Louisville’s crosstown rival Kentucky has gotten more aggressive in its pursuit. Alston is clearly a major priority for the Cardinals, as staff members followed him on the Puma circuit all summer.
As for Daughtry and Gibson, both are still in heavy communication with Kelsey. Gibson is looking to schedule an official visit soon and intends to cut his list down in the fall. After his legendary performance at Peach Jam, nearly every school in the country is chasing Daughtry. Louisville, which offered him in mid-June, is contending with Iowa, Miami, Michigan and more prominent programs.
Baylor adds to recruiting resume
Baylor is coming off a disappointing season in which it missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, finishing 17-17 and just 6-12 in the Big 12. Still, Scott Drew and his staff have produced a first-round pick in each of the last five NBA Drafts and landed a five-star prospect in six consecutive recruiting cycles. They hit big in late April, signing Class of 2026 standout Dylan Mingo. The consensus top-15 prospect will be joined in Waco by his older brother Kayden, who transferred from Penn State.
The Bears have also gotten off to a fast start with the 2027 class. On Saturday, they received a commitment from four-star guard Tyrone Jamison (No. 38). A 6-foot-1 floor general with three-level scoring ability, Jamison chose Baylor over LSU, Oklahoma, Iowa, USC and Miami. He shined on this year’s EYBL circuit, averaging 18.3 points, 4.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds for JL3. “He’s a winning guard, and I think there’s always a place for a guy who competes and gets after it and wins games,” JL3 coach and director Richard Law told Hoops HQ. “Hard-nosed player and he’s a great teammate.”
Jamison is Baylor’s first 2027 commit, but the program is far from finished. It is in a solid position to potentially add another elite guard in Payton Jones (No. 65), a Dallas native who has narrowed his list to six finalists: Baylor, Boston College, Cincinnati, Houston, Maryland and Oklahoma State. He plans to visit each of those schools and is targeting a fall commitment.
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