Kentucky lands 7-foot-5 Cherif Millogo, Mark Pope's top-ranked recruit yet

Cherif Millogo, a 7-foot-5 center from St. Francis High School in California, committed to Kentucky on Wednesday. ESPN ranks him No. 8 overall in the 2027 class and the No. 2 center in the country, and On3's Joe Tipton also reported the pick.

Millogo is now the highest-ranked recruit of Mark Pope's tenure, passing Jasper Johnson, who was No. 18 in the 2025 class. He joins Ryan Hampton, ESPN's No. 31 prospect, in Kentucky's 2027 group.

A fast climb

Millogo jumped from just inside ESPN's top 40 to No. 8 in the latest rankings update, one of the biggest moves in the class. He is from Burkina Faso and played at Cambridge Arts, Technology and Science in Massachusetts before transferring to St. Francis ahead of his junior year. He missed his sophomore season with a torn ACL.

His play at the Border League event in Las Vegas drew new offers from North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Louisville and Arkansas. He took an official visit to Kentucky in mid-October and also visited BYU and USC, per ESPN.

ESPN says he may have the most upside in the class and could be its best NBA prospect. He has a 7-foot-9 wingspan, protects the rim and can make 3-pointers and midrange jumpers.

The Aboya connection

Kentucky's recent hire of assistant Alfred Aboya helped. Aboya ran NBA Academy Africa and played at UCLA with Luc Mbah a Moute, who is Millogo's legal guardian. Mbah a Moute is also the guardian of Yann Kamagate, ESPN's No. 1 prospect in the 2028 class, so Kentucky's ties there could matter again next year.

What's next

Watch whether Pope adds more top-50 names around him and whether Kentucky shows up early for Kamagate.