Is Kentucky on the Verge of Landing 2026 Sensation Sayon Keita?

While much of the focus is on the transfer portal in the college basketball world, there are still a number of high school and international prospects waiting to find their next homes.

Among them is international center Sayon Keita, who actually visited with Kentucky Basketball last summer. The 7-foot big man also visited Kansas, Duke, UConn, and North Carolina, which gives you an idea of how promising of a prospect that he is, even if none of the major recruiting services have an evaluation on him yet.

Part of that is due to it being unclear if Keita, a native of Bamako, Mali, will remain in his current class of 2027 or if he’ll reclass into 2026. There also hasn’t been much news on Keita since last summer, leaving many to wonder if Kentucky was still even in the picture.

KSR’s Jacob Polacheck shared an update on Friday that says Kentucky is still very much in the picture, even doing Zoom calls with him, and that the option to be in the 2026 class is still on the table. So for now, he can be on Kentucky’s recruiting board for next season.

Last summer, 247 Sports’ Travis Branham said that Keita would be a 5-star prospect in either the 2026 or 2027 class.

In a separate article, On3’s Jamie Shaw said that Duke and Kentucky were the schools he was watching for Keita.

With Malachi Moreno and Reece Potter being the only centers committed for next season, it’s imperative that Kentucky adds at least one more true center prospect for next season. The Wildcats will likely try to get someone out of the transfer portal to fill that spot, but if nothing materializes, perhaps we’ll see a bigger push to get Keita in Lexington for next season.

Be sure to read Polacheck’s full update at KSR that includes a timeframe of when Keita could make his college recruitment.

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