Kevin Knox, No. 9-ranked prospect in 2017, commits to Kentucky

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JEFF BORZELLO via <a href="http://espn.go.com/" title="ESPN" class="espn_sc_byline">ESPN </a>
via
May 6, 2017, 8:05 PM ET
3 min read

— -- Five-star forward Kevin Knox announced his commitment to Kentucky on Saturday.

Knox, the No. 9 prospect in the 2017 class, chose the Wildcats over Duke, Florida State, North Carolina and Missouri.

Knox adds to Kentucky's top-ranked recruiting class. He is the sixth five-star prospect to commit to John Calipari's program in the 2017 class, joining P.J. Washington (No. 11), Nick Richards (No. 16), Jarred Vanderbilt (No. 18), Quade Green (No. 23) and Hamidou Diallo.

Diallo enrolled at Kentucky in January but didn't play, then he entered his name into the NBA draft without an agent. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 33) and Jemarl Baker (No. 63) are also in the fold.

Calipari is not done in 2017, either.

Mohamed Bamba, the top uncommitted prospect still available, is choosing from among Kentucky, Texas, Duke and Michigan.

Kentucky lost freshman stars De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo to the NBA draft, as well as sophomores Isaiah Briscoe and Isaac Humphries, in addition to Diallo.

Knox took official visits to all five of his finalists, including a trip back to Duke in October and visits to Florida State, Kentucky and North Carolina in January and February. Missouri jumped into the picture late, after Cuonzo Martin replaced Kim Anderson as head coach and signed Michael Porter Jr., the nation's No. 1 prospect.

The Tigers hosted Knox for a visit in early April, and they picked up momentum after the trip. Knox then welcomed each of the five schools for in-home visits in recent weeks.

The No. 2 small forward in the 2017 class, Knox is a Tampa (Florida) Catholic High School product. He averaged 28.5 points and 11.3 rebounds this past season, leading his school to the state championship game.

Knox also averaged 19.6 points and 7.9 rebounds last spring and summer on the Nike EYBL circuit with the Each 1 Teach 1 AAU program. He was named a McDonald's All-American and also represented USA Basketball at the U17 World Championships and the U16 FIBA Americas Championships.