5-Star SG Jasper Johnson Commits to Kentucky over UNC, Alabama, Arkansas, More

Jasper Johnson, one of the top guards in the 2025 recruiting class, committed to Kentucky on Thursday.

At 6'4" and 175 pounds, Johnson is a 5-star recruit who is ranked as the No. 2 shooting guard and No. 10 overall player in the 2025 class, per 247Sports' Composite rankings. He decided between Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Louisville on Thursday.

Johnson also received offers from Illinois, Indiana, Memphis, Kansas and West Virginia.

The Kentucky native already had multiple connections to the Wildcats before making his decision as his father, Dennis, was previously a defensive lineman at the school. His uncle was also a former Wildcat.

Johnson visited the school on Feb. 9 and returned to Kentucky's campus in July after Mark Pope was hired as the team's new head coach.

The 18-year-old enjoyed meeting Pope.

"I liked it a lot," Johnson said, per Jack Pilgrim of On3.com. "Pope gave me a message that he really is prioritizing me and he wants to coach me. I really liked seeing their offense in practice, seeing a lot of new faces. They've got a whole new team. I'll be very interested to see how they do this season, but I really enjoyed my visit."

He's able to use his 6'8" wingspan to create his own looks off the dribble and has also thrived as a catch-and-shoot option. During his junior season at Link Academy, he connected on 41 percent of his three-point attempts (via 247Sports' Adam Finkelstein).

Johnson recently averaged 10 points per game while shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from behind the arc for the United States during the FIBA U18 AmeriCup in June, winning a gold medal.

He joins center Malachi Moreno in Kentucky's incoming 2025 class following his decision.