Kentucky may be out for Caleb Holt; Jordan Smith trending toward Arkansas
There was a time when Kentucky was considered a top contender for Caleb Holt.
This time seems to have passed.
For much of Holt’s recruitment, Alabama was the favorite for the 5-star prospect, who also hails from the state, even though the Wildcats were thought to make up a lot of ground and establish themselves as the No. 2 school in that recruiting.
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But in a recent recruiting update from On3’s Jamie Shaw, it was revealed that another Wildcat program was making a strong push for Holt: Arizona.
“Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd was Holt’s head coach this summer for the USA Basketball U19 World Cup. Alabama is Holt’s home state school, and I’m told he’s very familiar with the program. At this point, those are the two schools I hear the most about from my sources,” Shaw wrote.
It also appears we’re not too far away from a decision date for Holt, who is ranked No. 4 overall in the country by Rivals and 247 Sports.
“In talking with Holt and speaking with sources about recruiting, it appears the current target date is around March-April,” Shaw said.
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Looks like unless something drastic happens, Kentucky is on the outside looking in for Holt.
Furthermore, Jordan Smith, his compatriot target for 2026, now seems to have a new leader in his recruitment.
Although the Wildcats were still technically in the mix for Smith, they were never considered a top contender, and Duke was long considered the runaway favorite.
But in today’s world of NIL, recruiting can change at the drop of a hat (pun intended), and it seems like that happened with Smith.
Over at 247 Sports, three straight recruiting predictions were just logged in favor of Arkansas to land Smith, so it appears John Calipari is poised to pull off a major surprise in the 2026 class.
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Smith, ranked No. 2 overall by 247 Sports, has long been considered a skinny Duke, so the Hogs’ victory would be a surprise.
This also leaves Kentucky fans wondering when/if they will see the Wildcats land a high school prospect for next season.
