The 2025-26 men’s college Basketball season may seem like it’s light years away, but a key date on the recruiting calendar for class of 2025 prospects has arrived.

Thursday marks the first day that NCAA rules allow college coaches to make unlimited calls and send unlimited text messages to recruits in the class of 2025, giving coaches the ability to directly contact players in the rising junior class.

For John Calipari and the Kentucky basketball program, this normally wouldn’t be such a significant date.

In the past, the precedent was that Calipari usually waited until an in-person visit to Lexington occurred before extending a scholarship offer to a recruit.

That mindset shifted with the 2024 recruiting class, as the Kentucky offers have arrived at an earlier stage in the recruiting process for some of the top prospects in the country in that age group.

So far that’s been to no avail though, as the Wildcats are still without a 2024 commit.

But the strategy of offering scholarships to players early and often has continued with UK’s class of 2025 targets: Prior to Thursday, UK already extended seven scholarship offers to rising juniors.

Here’s a breakdown of those seven players, who at this juncture are the ones most likely to be receiving phone calls and texts from the Kentucky coaching staff.

Information included is from 247Sports.

Darius Acuff Jr.

High school: Cass Technical High School (Detroit, Michigan).

Height, weight: 6-1, 175 pounds.

Position: Point guard.

Notes: Kentucky extended a scholarship offer to Acuff in late April, after he got off to a strong start during the first Nike EYBL session of the spring.

A shifty ball-handler who has the ability to get to his spots on the court, Acuff also has a strong knack for knocking down the three-point shot.

In May, the Herald-Leader watched Acuff explode for 30 points on an 8-for-16 three-point shooting performance while playing up an age level.

Acuff is currently not ranked by 247Sports or the 247Sports Composite, but you can count on that changing when the next rankings update comes out.

Cameron Boozer

High school: Christopher Columbus High School (Miami, Florida).

Height, weight: 6-9, 215 pounds.

Position: Power forward.

Notes: Along with his twin brother, Cayden, the Boozer brothers (the sons of former college basketball and NBA star Carlos Boozer) have both the basketball genes and individual ability to command clear attention on the recruiting trail.

Cameron in particular appears to be the star of the 2025 class: He’s ranked as the No. 1 overall player in the 2025 class by both 247Sports and the 247Sports Composite.

At this early juncture, a clear question in the recruitment of both players is whether they intend to follow in their father’s footsteps by playing college basketball at Duke.

Kentucky will attempt to disrupt those plans, having offered a scholarship to both Cameron and Cayden in May.

Cayden Boozer

High school: Christopher Columbus High School (Miami, Florida).

Height, weight: 6-3, 190 pounds.

Position: Shooting guard.

Notes: While Cayden doesn’t occupy the same lofty recruiting rankings that his brother Cameron does, he’s no slouch on the basketball court either.

Cayden is ranked as a four-star prospect and as the No. 27 player overall in the class of 2025 by the 247Sports Composite.

Jasper Johnson

High school: Link Academy (Branson, Missouri).

Height, weight: 6-4, 170 pounds.

Position: Combo guard.

Notes: A local, in-state star at Woodford County High School in Central Kentucky, Johnson helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the semifinals of the Boys’ Sweet 16, which marked the first time a team from Woodford County won a game in the state tournament since 1937.

That magical March run also appears to be the last time Johnson will play for Woodford County: He recently announced that he will be transferring to Link Academy, a top prep school in Missouri, to continue his high school basketball career.

In just its second year of existence, Link won the 2023 GEICO Nationals championship in April.

The son of former Harrodsburg, University of Kentucky and NFL football player Dennis Johnson — who is now the head football coach and athletic director at Woodford County — Johnson is a five-star prospect who is in contention to be the top combo guard in the 2025 class.

Johnson averaged 12.3 points per game and recorded 39.7% three-point shooting this spring while playing up an age level on the Nike EYBL circuit with Team Thad.

Koa Peat

High school: Perry High School (Gilbert, Arizona).

Height, weight: 6-8, 210 pounds.

Position: Power forward.

Notes: Much like Florida and Texas in recent years have shifted toward becoming hotbeds for top prep basketball players, the talent available in Arizona is among the best in the country, with Peat leading the way.

A five-star recruit who is ranked as the No. 3 overall player in the 2025 class by the 247Sports Composite, Peat projects as a versatile player and an elite rebounder at the college level.

His value also comes from being able to operate on the perimeter with a jump shot that should continue to improve.

Peat’s UK offer arrived in late April, after he had a strong showing in front of Calipari while playing on the Adidas 3Stripes Select Basketball circuit.

Darryn Peterson

High school: Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio).

Height, weight: 6-5, 195 pounds.

Position: Shooting guard.

Notes: Peterson became the first class of 2025 player to receive a scholarship offer from Kentucky when the Cats extended one to him last summer.

Time has proven that decision to be a prudent one.

The son of one of the top scorers in University of Akron men’s basketball history, Peterson is ranked as the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2025 class by the 247Sports Composite.

And good luck tempering expectations for what Peterson could do at the college level: He’s already being referred to as the best player to come out of Ohio, at his age level, since LeBron James.

A few weeks ago, Pro Insight Basketball analyst Alex Brown explained the best qualities of Peterson’s game to the Herald-Leader.

“Darryn is an incredible creator, for starters,” Brown said. “His ability to get his own shot off the bounce is impeccable, with a myriad of advanced counters for his age.”

Meleek Thomas

High school: Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School (Midland, Pennsylvania).

Height, weight: 6-4, 175 pounds.

Position: Point guard.

Notes: Another top prospect who is playing up an age level on the Nike EYBL circuit, Thomas has been a standout performer for the New Heights Lightning program this spring.

Despite sharing the court with a top 2024 player in Tahaad Pettiford (a former UK recruit who is an Auburn commit) and Elliot Cadeau (who recently reclassified to the 2023 group and is going to North Carolina), Thomas distinguishes himself with his rangy frame and playmaking ability.

In addition to being ranked as the No. 6 overall player in the 2025 class by the 247Sports Composite, that metric also has Thomas as the best point guard in the country in that age group.