Where Kentucky basketball recruits ended up in the new 247Sports rankings for 2022

The updated 247Sports basketball recruiting rankings for the class of 2022 are out, and a couple of Kentucky signees took a tumble on the latest list.

Five-star combo guard Cason Wallace is now UK’s highest-ranked signee for next season, according to 247Sports, which kept him in the No. 6 overall spot nationally.

Five-star wing Chris Livingston has dropped from No. 4 to No. 9 overall with the latest update, while point guard Skyy Clark fell nine spots to the No. 26 position nationally.

In the ESPN rankings that were updated earlier in the week, Livingston was No. 12, with Wallace at No. 14 and Clark at No. 25. Rivals.com is preparing to update its rankings in the near future. As of now, Livingston is No. 8 on that list, with Wallace at No. 10 and Clark at No. 21.

UK freshman Shaedon Sharpe had previously been the No. 1 overall recruit in the 247Sports rankings for 2022, but the website moved him back to the 2021 class — and ranked him No. 3 in that group — once it became clear that Sharpe planned to enroll in college courses early and join the Wildcats’ team for the remainder of this season.

Sharpe is now a member of the Kentucky team and going through full practices and workouts with the Cats, but it’s still unclear if he’ll play in actual games this season or wait until the 2022-23 campaign to make his college debut alongside Wallace, Livingston and Clark.

Two Duke signees are now atop the 247Sports rankings for 2022.

Dereck Lively II — a former UK recruiting target — held on to the No. 1 overall spot that he claimed when Sharpe reclassified. The new No. 2 is Kyle Filipowski, who moved up 10 spots from the previous rankings. The Blue Devils also have the No. 4 player in the rankings (small forward Dariq Whitehead) and the No. 10 player on the list (power forward Mark Mitchell).

Duke has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for next season.

Baylor signee Keyonte George is No. 3 on the list, with Arkansas signee Nick Smith Jr. taking the final spot in the top five.

Four Southeastern Conference programs — Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana State — all have at least one commitment in the national top 20.

Only two players in the top 25 of the new 247Sports rankings remain uncommitted: combo guard Anthony Black at No. 14 overall and center Yohan Traore at No. 19 overall.

Kentucky has shown some interest in Traore this season, but it doesn’t look like the Wildcats will fully pursue his recruitment, even though they’re expected to have a hole in the frontcourt this offseason. The transfer portal will remain an option for UK before the start of the 2022-23 season. Traore dropped 11 spots from the previous rankings.

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