4-star SG Kameron Mercer, who once visited Kentucky, commits to Big 12 school

Kentucky expressed real interest in Kameron Mercer, but he’s opted for a Big 12 school instead.

Mercer, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who was ranked No. 14 overall in the 2028 recruiting class by the Rivals Industry Ranking, announced his commitment to Cincinnati on Thursday. Mercer has also elected to reclass to the 2027 cycle.

Kentucky hosted Mercer for an unofficial visit back in early September, where he got a first-hand look at Mark Pope‘s program. He was a former high school teammate with Braydon Hawthorne at Huntington Prep (WV) before making the move to Princeton (OH). A return trip to Lexington was even planned out for February, but Mercer ended up not being able to make it back to campus.

An offer from the Wildcats never came, and the Cincinnati native decided to pick the hometown school. Ohio State and Xavier were the other schools in contention for Mercer.

NEWS: 2028 Top-15 overall recruit Kam Mercer has committed to Cincinnati and is reclassifying into 2027, his reps Corey Marcum and Trey Dees told @Rivals.

The 6-5 guard and Cincinnati native is one of the highest-ranked recruits to choose the Bearcats.

“I’m trying to accomplish… pic.twitter.com/GhEicYhF0v

— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) May 21, 2026

Despite Mercer coming off the board as a 2027 prospect, Kentucky still has plenty of options elsewhere. Pope and Co. are coming off a live period last weekend that saw eight 2027 recruits announce offers from the Wildcats. Kentucky is now up to 18 players offered in the 2027 cycle, including the entirety of the class’s top 12 and 15 of the top 20.

Who Kentucky has offered in 2027

Player	Position	High School	Rivals Industry Ranking
CJ Rosser	PF (6-9, 195)	Southeastern Prep (FL)	5-star (No. 1 overall)
Adan Diggs	SG (6-4, 180)	Millenium (AZ)	5-star (No. 2 overall)
King Gibson	CG (6-4, 180)	SPIRE Academy (OH)	5-star (No. 3 overall)
Marcus Spears Jr.	PF (6-9, 210)	Dynamic Prep (TX)	5-star (No. 4 overall)
Reese Alston	PG (6-2, 160)	Second Baptist (TX)	5-star (No. 5 overall)
Paul Osaruyi	PF (6-9, 225)	Bella Vista College Preparatory School (AZ)	5-star (No. 6 overall)
Beckham Black	PG (6-3, 180)	Southeastern Prep (FL)	5-star (No. 7 overall)
Nasir Anderson	PG (6-3, 220)	Prolific Prep (CA)	5-star (No. 8 overall)
Ryan Hampton	SG (6-6, 175)	DME Academy (FL)	4-star (No. 9 overall)
Moussa Kamissoko	SF (6-8, 180)	Long Island Lutheran (NY)	4-star (No. 10 overall)
DeMarcus Henry	SF (6-7, 200)	Compass Prep (AZ)	4-star (No. 11 overall)
Jordan Page	SG (6-5, 195)	Broughton (NC)	4-star (No. 12 overall)
Dawson Battie	SF (6-8, 190)	St. Mark’s (TX)	4-star (No. 15 overall)
Cayden Daughtry	PG (6-0, 160)	Calvary Christian (FL)	4-star (No. 18 overall)
Darius Wabbington	C (6-11, 245)	Sunnyslope (AZ)	4-star (No. 20 overall)
Chase Lumpkin	SG (6-4, 180)	McEachern (GA)	4-star (No. 45 overall)
Caleb Ourigou	C (6-10, 215)	Overtime Elite (GA)	4-star (No. 62 overall)
Lewis Uvwo	PF (6-10, 225)	Prolific Prep (CA)	3-star (No. 145 overall)

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