Somto Cyril, Kentucky’s first commitment in the 2024 class, is reopening his recruitment

Kentucky men’s basketball has lost a third member of its six-player 2024 recruiting class.

On Wednesday night — shortly after former UK head coach John Calipari was introduced as the new head coach at Arkansas — center Somto Cyril decommitted from the Wildcats.

In a video posted on social media, Cyril — who plays high school basketball at the Atlanta-based Overtime Elite (OTE) program — said he will still consider Kentucky as part of his reopened recruitment.

“While we wait for Kentucky to find a new head coach, since Coach Cal left I had a discussion with my family and we came up with a decision that I will officially decommit from Kentucky and wait for them to find a new head coach, with them still being an option for me,” Cyril said.

Cyril said Calipari spoke to him about his decision to leave UK for Arkansas prior to that news becoming official.

Cyril joins fellow center Jayden Quaintance and small forward Karter Knox in reopening their recruitments following Calipari’s departure from Lexington, where he was the head coach and a dominant recruiter for 15 seasons.

Cyril and Quaintance had both signed national letters of intent in the fall to join the Wildcats. Both players will be released from that paperwork. Knox was a verbal commit to UK, having pledged to become a Wildcat last month.

This leaves three players — guards Boogie Fland and Travis Perry and small forward Billy Richmond — as the remaining members of UK’s 2024 recruiting class yet to publicly comment on their college plans.

Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting group previously ranked as the second-best in the nation, behind only Duke.

Somto Cyril was Kentucky’s first commit in 2024 recruiting class

A 6-foot-10, 252-pound center, Cyril was the first player in Kentucky’s 2024 class to commit to the Wildcats when he did so last June.

Originally from Nigeria, Cyril spent the final two seasons of his prep basketball career at OTE. Cyril was teammates at OTE this past season with Knox, another of the recent decommits.

Cyril was set to become the 21st international-born player to play for Kentucky.

Considered a throwback center who moves around the rim with brute force, Cyril’s high school tape is filled with powerful dunks and strong rebounds. He was OTE’s defensive player of the year for the 2022-23 season after averaging more than six rebounds and three blocks per game.

But Cyril — currently ranked as the No. 41 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class by the 247Sports Composite — was also a project big man. He game still lacks offensive polish, and foul trouble has been an issue for him, despite OTE’s lax rules when it comes to fouling out of games.

“He’s gotten so much better in his screening, getting out of the screen and finding the open creases in the defense,” Cyril’s coach at OTE, Corey Frazier, told the Herald-Leader in December. “… When he’s motivated, now it’s quick screen, get out, quick lobs. It allows our guards to get to different spots and do a lot of things. (Cyril) has improved his passing, way better than he did last year.”

Cyril missed extended time this season at OTE because of a left hand injury.

During his initial recruitment, Cyril also held scholarship offers from the likes of Cincinnati, Florida, Indiana, Kansas and Tennessee, among other schools.

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