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Kentucky football recruiting: Tracking the Wildcats' 2025 class

Ryan Black and Prince James Story, Louisville Courier Journal
·6 min read
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LEXINGTON — Kentucky football's 2024 recruiting class finished 24th nationally, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. That ranked 11th among the 14 schools competing in the SEC last season.

The road ahead is even tougher: Oklahoma and Texas will be part of the league when the 2024 campaign kicks off.

Still, the Wildcats' 2024 recruiting haul marked only the fourth time in coach Mark Stoops' tenure — dating back to his first signing class in 2013 — the program inked a class that ranked among the country's 25 best. (The other occurrences were 2014, 2020 and 2022.) Stoops aims to make the 2025 cycle yet another top-25 effort.

UK already has turned its attention to the 2025 cycle, with five commits so far.

Quarterback Stone Saunders got the ball rolling for the Wildcats' 2025 class, committing in August. Kentucky didn't add another player to the class until Feb. 5, when wide receiver Quintin Simmons Jr. joined the group. A third offensive player gave his pledge March 1, when Philadelphia running back Isaiah West committed to UK. The Wildcats gained their fourth offensive commit — and second signal caller — March 7, when quarterback Brennen Ward announced his intentions. St. Xavier (Ohio) offensive lineman Tucker Kattus committed Wednesday.

Bookmark this page as The Courier Journal tracks Kentucky's 2025 class:

Kentucky football recruiting 2025 commitments

Tucker Kattus

Justin Kattus, left, a St. Xavier junior and linebacker, and his brother, Tucker, a St. Xavier sophomore and offensive lineman, are the sons of Eric Kattus, a former NFL player who played for the Bengals for the first six years of his career from 1986 to 1991.
Justin Kattus, left, a St. Xavier junior and linebacker, and his brother, Tucker, a St. Xavier sophomore and offensive lineman, are the sons of Eric Kattus, a former NFL player who played for the Bengals for the first six years of his career from 1986 to 1991.

Position: Offensive lineman

High School: St. Xavier (Ohio)

247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars

Commitment status: Verbally committed March 27

What to know: The 6-foot-5, 295-pound offensive lineman is the younger brother of Kentucky tight end Josh Kattus, and his other brother, Justin, was a part of Kentucky's 2024 class of signees. Their father, Eric, played at Michigan and played seven seasons in the NFL — mostly as a tight end with the Cincinnati Bengals. Tucker is ranked as No. 61 offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 40 prospect in Ohio (regardless of position), according to the 247Sports Composite. Kattus received first-team honors from the Greater Catholic League after his junior season.

Stone Saunders

Aliquippa's Omar Banks (55) grabs the face mask of Bishop McDevitt's Riley Robell (55) while pressuring quarterback Stone Saunders (8) in the first quarter of the PIAA Class 4A championship football game, Dec. 9, 2021, at HersheyPark Stadium in Hershey. The Quips defeated the Crusaders 34-27.
Aliquippa's Omar Banks (55) grabs the face mask of Bishop McDevitt's Riley Robell (55) while pressuring quarterback Stone Saunders (8) in the first quarter of the PIAA Class 4A championship football game, Dec. 9, 2021, at HersheyPark Stadium in Hershey. The Quips defeated the Crusaders 34-27.

Position: Quarterback

High School: Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars

Commitment status: Verbally committed Aug. 4, 2023

What to know: Saunders picked UK over his four other finalists (Georgia, Miami, Michigan and Nebraska) during a live appearance on ABC27 News, an affiliate in Harrisburg, on Aug. 4, 2023. Saunders is a four-star prospect, per the 247Sports Composite ratings, ranking as the No. 28 QB nationally and the No. 12 player in Pennsylvania. The four major recruiting services are split on his talent; Rivals and ESPN each gave him four stars, while 247Sports and On3 assessed him as a three-star prospect. Saunders led Bishop McDevitt to a 13-1 record and a spot in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 4A state semifinals last season. Per MaxPreps, he threw for 3,522 yards and 56 touchdowns against five interceptions in 2023. His TD total led the state, and his passing yardage ranked second. In 2022, Saunders won the MaxPreps Pennsylvania High School Football Player of the Year award after powering Bishop McDevitt to its first state championship since 1995. That season, he tossed 54 touchdowns against five interceptions and notched four games with six touchdown passes and two more with five.

Quintin Simmons Jr.

Withrow's Quintin Simmons (3) runs the ball during the Tigers' regional final against Anderson Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.
Withrow's Quintin Simmons (3) runs the ball during the Tigers' regional final against Anderson Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.

Position: Wide receiver

High School: Withrow (Cincinnati)

247Sports Composite rating: 4 stars

Commitment status: Verbally committed Feb. 5

What to know: A four-star wideout, Simmons Jr. chose UK on Feb. 5 over his other five finalists: Cincinnati, Michigan, Penn State, Syracuse and West Virginia. Per the 247Sports Composite, Simmons is the No. 29 WR in the 2025 cycle and the No. 10 overall player in Ohio in his class. According to The (Cincinnati) Enquirer, Simmons had 31 catches for 533 yards and eight touchdowns to go along with 119 yards and three more scores on the ground in 11 games for Withrow last season. That came on the heels of a 2022 campaign in which he hauled in 40 passes for 556 yards and five touchdowns. Simmons helped Withrow set a single-season school record for wins (12) in 2023, reaching the Ohio High School Athletic Association's Division II, Region 8 championship game. He was high school teammates with Terhyon Nichols, a defensive back who is part of the Wildcats' 2024 signing class.

Brennen Ward

Nov 10, 2023; Worthington, Ohio, USA; Gahanna Lincoln’s Brennen Ward (2) looks for a receiver during the second half of the high school football Division I, Region 3 semifinal against Upper Arlington at Thomas Worthington High School. Upper Arlington won 12-7. Mandatory Credit: Graham Stokes-The Columbus Dispatch
Nov 10, 2023; Worthington, Ohio, USA; Gahanna Lincoln’s Brennen Ward (2) looks for a receiver during the second half of the high school football Division I, Region 3 semifinal against Upper Arlington at Thomas Worthington High School. Upper Arlington won 12-7. Mandatory Credit: Graham Stokes-The Columbus Dispatch

Position: Quarterback

High School: Gahanna Lincoln (Gahanna, Ohio)

247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars

Commitment status: Verbally committed March 7

What to know: On March 7, Ward became the first quarterback to commit to Kentucky since the hire of new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, who joined Stoops' staff Feb. 14. Ward's commitment came one day after he was on campus for an unofficial visit. He is a consensus three-star prospect, earning that rating from Rivals, 247Sports and On3; ESPN has yet to evaluate him. Per the 247Sports Composite, Ward is the No. 46 QB nationally in 2025 and the No. 22 player in Ohio in his class. Ward completed 67.7% (155 for 299) of his attempts for 2,482 yards and 21 touchdowns (versus eight interceptions) last season, according to MaxPreps. He also ran for 168 yards and six scores on 31 carries. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Ward led Gahanna to a 12-1 record in 2023, falling in a Division I, Region 3 semifinal clash to Upper Arlington, 12-7.

Isaiah West

St. Joseph's Prep running back Isaiah West carries the ball in a PIAA Class 6A state semifinal game against Central Bucks at North Penn High School in Towamencin on Dec. 2. West committed to Kentucky Friday night.
St. Joseph's Prep running back Isaiah West carries the ball in a PIAA Class 6A state semifinal game against Central Bucks at North Penn High School in Towamencin on Dec. 2. West committed to Kentucky Friday night.

Position: Running back

High School: St. Joseph's Preparatory School (Philadelphia)

247Sports Composite rating: 3 stars

Commitment status: Verbally committed March 1

What to know: West, who plays for St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia, picked Kentucky on March 1. UK was his choice among four finalists, a group that included Nebraska, North Carolina and Wisconsin. A 6-foot, 208-pound tailback, West announced his decision on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. West was one of the many visitors on hand for Kentucky's junior day event in Lexington last month. 247Sports gave him a four-star rating, while the three other major recruiting services (Rivals, On3 and ESPN) all tabbed West a three-star prospect. He's a three-star prospect, per the 247Sports Composite, clocking in as the No. 40 RB nationally and the No. 16 player in the Keystone State in 2025. During his high school career at St. Joe's, he was teammates with David Washington Jr., a wide receiver signee in the Wildcats' 2024 recruiting class.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky football recruiting 2025 class: See every Wildcats commit