Commit Isaiah West with UK coach Mark Stoops. (UK Athletics Photo)
Kentucky got an early boost for its 2025 recruiting class when Philadelphia running back Isaiah West verbally committed to Kentucky on Friday.
The 5-11, 208-pound West picked UK over Wisconsin, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Michigan State, Minnesota and others. He’s ranked as the No. 704 overall prospect nationally by the On3 weighted average. He will not make an official visit to UK until June 7 but already felt ready to commit in part because his high school teammate, receiver David Washington, is already on campus.
West is Kentucky’s third 2025 commit as he joins Pennsylvania three-star quarterback and four-star receiver Quintin Simmons of Cincinnati.
“I was on my visit (a month ago) and kept saying I wasn’t going to commit and not to get caught up in things,” West told Brian Dohn of 247Sports. “I kept reminding myself of that and then on the plane ride home, and when I got home and was talking to my parents, we have this whole chart to make my decision, and I was telling them, ‘There’s nothing wrong with this place.’”
Kentucky sold academics as well as athletics to West, who plans to major in sports medicine.
He told Dohn that Kentucky was the first school that showed me the educational side of things outside of football” among those recruiting him. He got to visit a hospital and talk to a former UK football player who also majored in the medical field.
West also liked that UK running backs coach Jay Boulware has worked with players such as current Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon and Pittsburgh running back Najee Harris.
