Kentucky basketball recruiting: Four-star forward Karter Knox helps solidify Wildcats’ No. 2 recruiting class

Kentucky secured another massive win on the recruiting trail Saturday by landing Overtime Elite four-star forward Karter Knox. Knox’s commitment secures Kentucky’s spot as the second-ranked recruiting class behind Duke in the 247Sports team rankings.

“Coach Cal is a good coach,” Knox told 247Sports prior to his commitment to Kentucky . “Probably one of the greatest coaches in college basketball. He coached my brother and got him prepared for the League. He is coaching DJ Wagner and we were on the same USA team. DJ is going to be a lottery pick but he [Calipari] knows what he is doing. He has been in the game for too long. It [the visit] was a great experience. When I was a kid and seeing my brother take pictures, going in on meetings where we had to sit out, it was crazy because now I am doing this stuff. I am the one in the Kentucky uniform taking the pictures and I never really imagined it but all of the work paid off.”

The No. 20 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class according to 247Sports committed to the Wildcats over Louisville, USF and a return to Overtime Elite. The 6-foot-5 Knox is the younger brother of former Kentucky star Kevin Knox Jr., who played for coach John Calipari during the 2017-18 season.

Knox became the second-highest available player in the 247Sports rankings after former Indiana signee Liam McNeeley requested to be released from his National Letter of Intent. McNeeley ranks four spots ahead of Knox as the No. 16 player in the class.

Knox is Kentucky’s sixth pledge in the 2024 recruiting cycle and he joins a star-studded class that includes five-star center Jayden Quaintance, four-star guard Boogie Fland, four-star center Somto Cyril, four-star guard Travis Perry and four-star guard Billy Richmond.

Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner headlined Kentucky’s top-ranked recruiting class last cycle. Sheppard and Dillingham are both projected as top-10 picks in the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft.