Kentucky is starting a new era in its football program. After 13 seasons with Mark Stoops leading the Wildcats, Kentucky has introduced Will Stein as the new head coach. Now, Stein has just scored a major win, flipping a 4-star receiver to join the program.
According to Hayes Fawcett of Rivals, four-star receiver Kenny Darby, who decommitted from LSU last Tuesday, has signed with Kentucky.
“The biggest reason is I picked Kentucky because I wanna start my own trend,” Darby told Rivals, discussing his commitment to the Wildcats on Friday. “I wanna be a part of something big. Obviously, they have a new coaching staff and I wanna be a part of that with Coach Sloan.”
Coach Sloan is Joe Sloan, who was the LSU Quarterback coach and offensive coordinator, spending 2022 through 2025 there. He recruited Darby to LSU, but Sloan left LSU with the arrival of new head coach Lane Kiffin. The former LSU OC was officially hired as the new offensive coordinator for Kentucky on Thursday.
This is not the first time that Darby has switched his commitment. Prior to his junior season at Airline High School in Bossier City, Louisiana, the wide receiver gave a verbal commitment to Mississippi State. That season, he brought in 100 receptions for 1,754 yards and found the end zone 24 times. This led to a flurry of offers for the receiver, and he chose LSU. He is coming off another 1,000-yard season with eight touchdowns this past campaign.
Darby is the 188th-ranked player in the nation and the sixth-ranked player out of the state of Louisiana. He is also the highest-rated player in the 2026 recruiting class for Kentucky. He becomes the third four-star player joining the Wildcats. Matt Ponatoski, a quarterback out of Ohio, and Messiah Tilson, a safety out of Illinois, are the other top players for the class.
