5-Star Guard Prospect Cason Wallace Commits to Kentucky over UTSA, Tennessee, Texas

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Kentucky just improved its backcourt in a big way.

Cason Wallace, a 5-star combo guard from Richardson, Texas, committed to the Wildcats on Sunday.

“I chose Kentucky for a lot of different reasons; I built a close relationship with Coach Jai Lucas; he’d been recruiting me for a while,” Wallace wrote in a first-person essay for Sports Illustrated. “When I went there, I loved everything about the vibe, and I knew that everybody really wanted me to be there.”

Wallace is considered the No. 7 player overall in the Class of 2022, the No. 2 combo guard and the No. 1 player from the state of Texas, per 247Sports’ composite rankings. The site compared him to Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart, with Brandon Jenkins offering the following scouting report: 

“One of, if not the best defender in the class. Wallace locks opponents up and controls each game with his length defensively. He keeps his man in front of him at all times, is a deflection magnet, and is one of the best transitional shot blockers in the country. Offensively, he is a bit mechanical but still very productive nonetheless. He is capable of putting points on the board from all three levels. He also can play on or off the ball and is similarly versatile in terms of his ability to play off a ball-screen or be an effective spot-up player on the weak-side of the floor. Wallace has the long-term upside to fill a role at the highest level of the sport for multiple years.”

At 6’4″ and 185 pounds, he’ll have to bulk up some to match Smart’s physicality (6’3″, 220 pounds). But that’s high praise nonetheless, given Smart is one of the NBA’s best defenders and capable of locking down multiple positions. 

As for what Wallace believes are the strengths of his game, he told 247Sports’ Travis Branham: “Leading the team, winning, playing hard on defense, hard on offense, scoring, steals and all of that.”

If he provides that at the college level, Kentucky is going to be one happy squad.

The Wildcats are putting together yet another excellent recruiting class, with point guard Skyy Clark, a fellow 5-star recruit, also committed to the team. That follows a 2021 recruiting class that ranked No. 7 in the nation, per 247Sports, and included 5-star recruits TyTy Washington and Daimion Collins and 4-star power forward Bryce Hopkins. 

John Calipari always brings in a strong class. The 2022 edition is no exception.