Kentucky Men’s Basketball Inks Four During Fall Signing Period
Kentucky men’s basketball head coach John Calipari announced the signing of four standout student-athletes to the program’s 2024 signing class on Thursday. Somto Cyril, Boogie Fland, Travis Perry and Jayden Quaintance each inked national letters of intent with UK during the fall signing period.
In every season but one of the Calipari era, the Wildcats have signed a top-three recruiting class according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, which tallies major recruiting rankings and plugs them into a formula to calculate a consensus ranking.
With the additions, Kentucky has signed 74 top-50 recruits, 58 top-25 players and 34 top-10 players (according to Rivals) in what will now be Calipari’s 16 recruiting classes at Kentucky.
The spring signing period will begin April 17, 2024. The University of Kentucky cannot comment on unsigned prospects.
Somto Cyril
Position: Forward
Measurables: 6-10, 240 pounds
School: Overtime Elite
Hometown: Enugu, Nigeria
Rivals ranking: No. 44 overall | Four-star prospect | No. 5 at C
247Sports ranking: No. 68 overall | Four-star prospect | No. 11 at C
ESPN ranking: No. 55 overall | Four-star prospect | No. 6 at C
Stats: Through the preseason of his senior year, Cyril is averaging 11.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 70.5% from the field for Rod Wave Elite and Overtime Elite. As a junior, Cyril logged 8.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game
Notable: Was named the OTE Defensive Player of the Year as a junior after leading the league in blocks per game at 3.4. Prior to attending Overtime Elite, he attended Hamilton Heights Christian Academy. Cyril has a 7-foot-5 wingspan and has the nickname, “Baby Shaq.”
Why Kentucky at the time of his signing: “To be here today, about to be a part of one of the biggest programs in the country, it feels so surreal. Because I know being back home, I used to watch YouTube, basketball stuff on YouTube. This school right here was the first I ever watched when I started playing basketball. And now I’m about to become one of their players. It’s a feeling I can’t really explain. I’m just grateful for this moment. I know I’m up for this. It wasn’t given to me for free. I earned it.”
