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Former Kentucky Wildcats commit Acaden Lewis visited coach Rick Pitino and the St. John's University men's basketball team just six days after his de-commitment from Kentucky. The 6-foot-2 point guard shared pictures of his visit on his official Instagram page on Wednesday.
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Four-star Sidwell Friends guard Acaden Lewis, who is currently ranked No. 32 according to On3's 2025 class industry rankings, initially pledged his commitment to Kentucky in November 2024, choosing them over Duke and UConn. Now, he will no longer be joining the Wildcats after announcing his decommitment on Thursday.
Since his decommitment, Lewis has had quite a number of interactions with a couple of college programs. According to On3, he held a Zoom meeting with Villanova a day after announcing his commitment.
College programs like Maryland, Georgetown, Texas and Indiana have also reached out. His visit to St. John's is the latest in his engagement with prospective college programs.
If Acaden Lewis eventually commits to the St. John's Red Storm, he'll get to play under coach Rick Pitino, who was previously an NBA coach with the Boston Celtics.
Coach Rick has been in charge of the team since 2023. Interestingly, he also coached the Kentucky Wlldcats before he took charge of the Boston Celtics in 1997.
"This was an incredibly difficult decision": Four-star prospect Acaden Lewis on his decommitment from Mark Pope's Kentucky
Four-star prospect Acaden Lewis' decommitment from Kentucky was indeed a huge blow for coach Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats. For Lewis, the decision to decommit was not an easy one.
In his official announcement via ESPN on Thursday, Lewis expressed his gratitude to Kentucky coach Mark Pope. He said that the decision, though difficult, was not, in any way, motivated by any negative feelings, instead, is a necessary step for the future:
"I will always be grateful to Coach Pope and the entire Kentucky staff for believing in me. It is clear Kentucky is a special place with an amazing fanbase, but as I reflect on what is best for my future, I have decided to re-open my recruitment.
"This was an incredibly difficult decision, but after a lot of discussion with my family and people I trust, I feel this is necessary. This is not in any way a reflection of any negative feelings towards Coach Pope and Kentucky. I appreciate your understanding and am excited for what the future holds."
Acaden Lewis' decommitment leaves the Wildcats with only two Class of 2025 commits, including five-star point guard Jasper Johnson and 6-foot-10 Center Malachi Moreno. Coach Mark Pope is also currently in the race to land No. 4-ranked prospect Nate Ament, who is yet to announce his commitment.
