It was only five days ago that Kentucky threw its hat in the ring for one of the top players in the 2026 class: 5-star Alijah Arenas, son of Gilbert Arenas, former Arizona Wildcat and NBA Star. Gilbert announced today that his son is working to reclassify to the 2025 class, making this year his senior year. This would also place him in college basketball next year. His high school hasn’t reached the decision, as it sounds like the process is just getting started, but expect things to happen quickly.
There are two ways to look at this situation. One is the overly optimistic one, which is that right after the Kentucky offer came in, he began working to reclassify to the 2025 class. Maybe he was waiting on it? That’s probably a bit optimistic, but it’s a scenario none-the-less.
Realistically, it’s doubtful Mark Pope is looking to have more than a five-player recruiting class in 2025. The class is currently at four players, with a strong possibility of adding Caleb Wilson as the fifth. It’s loaded with top players who will be looking for playing time, and Pope isn’t going to go overly freshman-heavy like his predecessor did. Having six players in the class is going to be heavy.
Kentucky has a class with two other high-caliber guards already in it: Jasper Johnson and Acaden Lewis. Sure, they could add Arenas, and I don’t think this eliminates the Wildcats, but they may change tactics in recruiting Arenas.
Kentucky is also the last dog in the race for Arenas. Alijah has 15+ offers, all from the biggest players in the game. There’s a chance he’s already narrowed things down without Kentucky before they came calling. It’s already perceived that his favorites are Arizona and Louisville. While neither has been publicly announced, his dad obviously went to Arizona, and his sister currently attends and plays hoops for Louisville.
