Kentucky makes the cut for 5-star center Obinna Ekezie Jr.

Obinna Ekezie Jr. is one of the top talents in all of high school basketball. He has Kentucky in his group of finalists.

According to On3’s Joe Tipton, Ekezie has trimmed his list of top schools down to just five: Louisville, Arkansas, BYU, Maryland, and the Wildcats. A 7-foot-1 junior playing for Southeastern Prep (FL), the native of Nigeria is ranked No. 2 overall in the 2027 class by the Rivals Industry Ranking. Tipton also reports that Ekezie is a serious reclass candidate, meaning he could play college basketball as soon as the upcoming 2026-27 season.

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope hosted Ekezie for an unofficial visit in the fall, but the talented big man has recently taken official visits to Arkansas, Louisville, and BYU. He is the son of former NBA player Obinna Ekezie, who played his college ball at Maryland.

NEWS: 5⭐️ Obinna Ekezie Jr. is down to five schools, his agency THE·TEAM told @Rivals.

The 7-foot center is the No. 2 overall player in the 2027 class and is a potential reclass candidate.https://t.co/RiJKtyRhGe pic.twitter.com/ucc9qmaCft

— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) April 27, 2026

Ekezie was among the first players Kentucky offered in the 2027 class, and the coaching staff has continued to be a mainstay in his recruitment. His visit to Lexington came in October when Kentucky beat Purdue in a preseason exhibition at Rupp Arena. Pope, along with assistant coaches Cody Fueger and Mikhail McLean, then visited Ekezie in person earlier this month.

“Kentucky is nice, it’s a great school,” Ekezie told On3’s Jamie Shaw in January. “I met with Coach Mark Pope a lot on my visit. I’m in contact with them a lot, Coach Cody Fueger. When I was on my visit, they really showed me how I can fit in their system.

“Their bigs, for example, at my position, they’re involved a lot in their offense. They run a lot of handoffs, and the bigs kind of control things. They actually play like the initiators of their offense. So, it’s a really good system to showcase passing and the overall skill set of a big. Being able to shoot, too, would really thrive in their offense, because not a lot of bigs want to step out and guard out there. So, they have a really good system as well.”

Ekezie reclassifying to 2026 would be a game-changer for any of the five teams recruiting him. There does not appear to be a clear leader in his recruitment, but Arkansas, Louisville, and BYU have all gotten him on campus in the past week for official visits. We’ll have to wait and see if Kentucky can do the same.

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