Two Signees Selected to McDonald’s All American Game
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky men’s basketball team’s signee class will once again be well represented on the 2022 McDonald’s All American Game roster.
Fall signees Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace are the latest “burger boys” who were selected to the annual roster. Kentucky is one of seven programs to have multiple selections in 2022.
This is the 45th season rosters for the McDonald’s All American game have been picked. After a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the game will return to action on March 28 in Chicago.
With the latest selections, UK has signed 40 McDonald’s All Americans out of high school during the John Calipari era, more than any other school in the country during that time period. Multiple players from each of Calipari’s signing classes have been tabbed McDonald’s All Americans, including six in 2013 and five in 2017.
Kentucky has signed 72 McDonald’s All Americans since the game began in 1977, including current Wildcat Daimion Collins (2021).
UK’s current signing haul, which also includes Skyy Clarke and Shaedon Sharpe, have all inked national letters of intent with UK. All four players are consensus four- or five-star prospects and all are ranked in the top 25 by at least one major national recruiting service.
In all but one season in the Calipari era, the Wildcats have signed a top-three recruiting class according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, which tallies major recruiting rankings and plugs them into a formula to calculate a consensus ranking. With the fall additions, Kentucky has signed 66 top-50 recruits, 52 top-25 players and 28 top-10 players (according to Rivals) in what will now be Calipari’s 14 recruiting classes at Kentucky.
UK can only comment on prospects who have signed official paperwork with the university. The spring signing period begins April 13.
Recruiting Class Rankings under Calipari
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||
| Rivals | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | TBD | |
| 247Sports | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | TBD | |
| ESPN | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | TBD | |
| RSCI | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | TBD | |
Chris Livingston
Position: Small forward
Measurables: 6-7, 210 pounds
School: Oak Hill Academy (Va.)
Hometown: Akron, Ohio
Rivals ranking: No. 8 overall | Five-star prospect | No. 2 at SF
247Sports ranking: No. 9 overall | Five-star prospect | No. 2 at SF
ESPN ranking: No. 12 | Five-star prospect | No. 6 at SF
Stats: Averaging 16.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game during his senior season. He’s also shooting 54.9% from the field. He averaged 31.1 points, 15.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 4.7 steals and 4.0 blocks for Buchtel High School in Akron, Ohio, in 2020-21 as a junior
Notable: 2021 Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year and MaxPreps Junior All-America First Team | Named MVP of the 2019 FIBA Americans U16 Championship after leading Team USA to a gold medal while averaging 14.8 points and 8.0 rebounds | Transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia after his junior season
Why Kentucky: “I chose to come to Kentucky to become the best version of myself on and off the court.”
Coach Cal: “Chris has everything that you look for in a wing: athleticism, speed, skill and a physicality to him. He can play and guard multiple positions and he can score the ball at all levels, but he can also impose himself physically on both ends of the floor. Chris can really be a challenge for opposing defenses.”
Cason Wallace
Position: Combo guard
Measurables: 6-4, 190 pounds
School: Richardson High School
Hometown: Dallas
Rivals ranking: No. 10 | Five-star prospect | No. 4 at shooting guard
247Sports ranking: No. 6 | Five-star prospect | No. 2 at combo guard
ESPN ranking: No. 14 | Five-star prospect | No. 1 at point guard
Stats: Currently averaging 14.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game with a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio as a senior. He’s shooting 47.8% from the field and 35.2% from 3-point range. He averaged 15.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.3 steals in the 2021 Nike EYBL. He shot 51.2% from the field and 37% from 3-point range.
Notable: Led the NBPA Top 100 Camp in assists (5.0) and steals (3.0) per game while posting 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds
Why Kentucky: “I chose Kentucky because Coach Cal has shown the ability to get players like me to where I want to go with hard work. I understand that it will be hard and I wanted to bet on myself.”
Coach Cal: “Cason is a winner and a competitor who reminds me of Eric Bledsoe and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. I don’t like to make a lot of comparisons like that, but he has a quiet demeanor with a game that speaks loudly. He can shoot it and create for his teammates, but what really separates him is his defense. He is already an elite on-ball defender who takes a lot of pride in that part of the game.”
The current Wildcats return to action on Saturday when they travel to No. 5/5 Kansas. Tip is set for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
