Final recruiting rankings highlight UK’s Bradshaw, Edwards among top incoming freshmen

Since 1998, the RSCI (Recruiting Services Consensus Index) has taken all of the rankings from the nation’s top recruiting services and combined them into one single metric to get a composite of the top players in each men’s college basketball recruiting class.

This tradition continued for the 2023 class of recruits, and once again the Kentucky Wildcats will be welcoming the best recruiting class in college hoops to Lexington.

And it’s not even close.

For the final 2023 RSCI rankings, four different recruiting services were used to produce the composite rankings: 247Sports, Rivals, ESPN and On3.

Longtime recruiting analyst Van Coleman’s rankings, which are normally included in the RSCI rankings, weren’t included for the final 2023 rankings.

And while the Kentucky men’s basketball roster may be in flux for next season, it’s hard to see how head coach John Calipari could have done better in terms of only freshman talent.

All five of the incoming UK men’s basketball freshmen in the class of 2023 are ranked inside the top 33 of the RSCI, with Kentucky earning the most RSCI “points” to claim the title of the best freshman class in men’s college basketball.

▪ Justin Edwards (small forward) is No. 3.

▪ Aaron Bradshaw (center) is No. 4.

▪ DJ Wagner (combo guard) is No. 6.

▪ Robert Dillingham (point guard) is No. 16.

▪ Reed Sheppard (combo guard) is No. 33.

To determine the best recruiting class each year, the RSCI awards a point total to each Top 100 recruit, with the nation’s No. 1 player receiving 100 points, the No. 2 player getting 99 points, and so on, all the way down to one point for the No. 100 prospect on the list.

Kentucky finished with a “points” total of 443, which is far and away the best score among all schools in the country.

Duke is in second place with 339 points, and Michigan State is third with 248.

Oregon is fourth with 239 points and Southern Cal, which boasts the top-ranked RSCI player in Isaiah Collier, is fifth with 233.

Players opting to pursuing a pro basketball pathway like the NBA’s G-League Ignite program or playing professionally overseas are also included in the final RSCI list.

Kentucky bringing in five freshmen (the most of any school in the top seven of the team rankings), helps juice the overall strength of Calipari’s 2023 recruiting class.

For reference, the top RSCI freshman class of all time was Kentucky’s 2017 group, which registered 582 points in the RSCI with commitments from Kevin Knox, Jarred Vanderbilt, PJ Washington, Nick Richards, Quade Green, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo and Jemarl Baker.

Of course, bringing in a highly touted freshman recruiting class doesn’t automatically give you a national title, or even a berth in the Final Four.

In that 2017-18 season, Kentucky was a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the Cats lost in the Sweet 16 to Kansas State.

Kenny Payne delivers Louisville a top-10 freshman class

It was painfully obvious last season that things needed to change in Louisville.

In head coach Kenny Payne’s first season leading the Cardinals, U of L went a shockingly bad 4-28 overall and 2-18 in ACC play.

The resulting roster churn will see Louisville welcome five freshmen to the squad next season:

▪ Trentyn Flowers (small forward) is No. 22 in the RSCI rankings.

▪ Dennis Evans (center) is No. 32.

▪ Kaleb Glenn (small forward) is No. 79.

▪ Ty-Laur Johnson (point guard) is No. 86.

▪ Curtis Williams Jr. (small forward) is No. 88.

This quintet combined to give Louisville 198 points in the RSCI standings, which was enough for the eighth-best freshman class in men’s college hoops.

Like UK, this overall total was impacted by bringing in five first-year players.

Among the schools ranked in the top 10 of the team RSCI rankings, only UK and U of L brought in five players.

Only two players from the commonwealth were included in the final 2023 RSCI rankings.

Sheppard (North Laurel High School) was 33rd, and Glenn — who spent his senior season at La Lumiere prep school in Indiana — is ranked No. 79.

UK’s historical showings in the RSCI

Unsurprisingly, since the RSCI was created in 1998 — and especially since John Calipari became the head coach — Kentucky has been prominently featured in the rankings.

Here’s a breakdown of each Kentucky recruiting class since 1998 that appeared in the top 10 of the RSCI:

▪ 1998: 6th with 199 points — Tayshaun Prince, Jules Camara, Desmond Allison, Todd Tackett.

▪ 1999: 5th with 204 points — Keith Bogans, Marvin Stone, Marquis Estill, Derek Smith.

▪ 2004: 2nd with 258 points — Randolph Morris, Joe Crawford, Rajon Rondo, Ramel Bradley.

▪ 2009: 1st with 365 points — John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, Eric Bledsoe, Jon Hood.

▪ 2010: 1st with 407 points — Brandon Knight, Enes Kanter, Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, Stacy Poole.

▪ 2011: 1st with 374 points — Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Kyle Wiltjer.

▪ 2012: 1st with 347 points — Nerlens Noel, Alex Poythress, Archie Goodwin, Willie Cauley-Stein.

▪ 2013: 1st with 557 points — Julius Randle, Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Dakari Johnson, James Young, Marcus Lee, Derek Willis

▪ 2014: 2nd with 346 points — Karl-Anthony Towns, Trey Lyles, Tyler Ulis, Devin Booker.

▪ 2015: 3rd with 270 points — Skal Labissiere, Isaiah Briscoe, Charles Matthews, Jamal Murray.

▪ 2016: 1st with 448 points — De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo, Malik Monk, Wenyen Gabriel, Sacha Killeya-Jones.

▪ 2017: 1st with 582 points — Kevin Knox, Jarred Vanderbilt, PJ Washington, Nick Richards, Quade Green, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo, Jemarl Baker.

▪ 2018: 2nd with 411 points — EJ Montgomery, Keldon Johnson, Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley, Tyler Herro.

▪ 2019: 2nd with 334 points — Tyrese Maxey, Kahlil Whitney, Keion Brooks, Johnny Juzang, Dontaie Allen.

▪ 2020: 1st with 449 points — Brandon Boston, Terrence Clarke, Isaiah Jackson, Devin Askew, Lance Ware, Cam’Ron Fletcher.

▪ 2021: 5th with 244 points — Daimion Collins, TyTy Washington, Bryce Hopkins.

▪ 2022: 9th with 181 points — Cason Wallace, Chris Livingston.

▪ 2023: 1st with 443 points — Aaron Bradshaw, Robert Dillingham, Justin Edwards, Reed Sheppard, DJ Wagner.