The opening weekend of the transfer portal brought plenty of big names to Kentucky. One of them has decided to wear a Kentucky uniform in the fall of 2026.

Running back CJ Baxter will transfer from Texas to Kentucky. He has two years of eligibility remaining. Baxter committed to the Cats after completing a visit to Indiana over the weekend.

Baxter will become the most prolific high school running back to suit up for the Wildcats. He was a five-star talent and the top-ranked running back in the 2023 recruiting class. During his All-American senior season in Florida, he tallied  1,375 yards and 15 touchdowns, finishing his prep career with more than 4,000 all-purpose yards and 58 total touchdowns.

Once he arrived in Austin, Baxter made an immediate impact. He was a Second Team Freshman All-American after earning six starts and rushing for 659 yards on 138 carries (4.8 ypc) and five touchdowns.

Unfortunately, injuries prevented Baxter from parlaying that freshman pop into more production. He suffered a season-ending right knee injury ahead of his sophomore season. He returned in 2025 and started in the opener against Ohio State, but the injury bug bit again three games into the season. A hamstring injury plagued him throughout the year, limiting Baxter to eight games. He finished the year with 54 carries for 196 yards (3.6 ypc.).

The 6-1, 227-pounder is a physical running back with breakaway speed. If he can return to form after two injury-plagued season, Baxter has a chance to be special at Kentucky.

Transfer Portal Commits

Kentucky added four players in less than an hour, bringing the total of transfer portal commits up to 24.

PlayerPositionHigh SchoolFormer SchoolYearOlaus AlinenG/T (6-6, 322)Windson (Conn.) The Loomis Chaffee SchoolAlabamaRedshirt JuniorJesse AndersonS (6-0, 180)Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal GibbonsPittsburghRedshirt JuniorMax AndersoniOL (6-5, 311)Frisco (Texas) HighTennesseeRedshirt SophomoreElijah “Bo” BarnesLB (6-1, 244)Dallas (Texas) SkylineTexasRedshirt FreshmanJovantae BarnesRB (6-0, 211)Las Vegas (Nev.) Desert PinesOklahomaRedshirt SeniorCJ BaxterRB (6-1, 227)Orlando (Fl.) EdgewaterTexasRedshirt JuniorAhmad BreauxiDL (6-3, 278)Ruston (La.) HighLSUJuniorJordan CastellS (6-2, 213)Winter Garden (Fla.) West OrangeFloridaSeniorXavier DaisyWR (6-3, 210)Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian SchoolUABJuniorJa’Kayden FergusonWR (6-2, 187)Missouri City (Texas) Thurgood MarshallArkansasSophomoreAaron GatesNickel (6-0, 198)Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity ChristianFloridaRedshirt JuniorJamarrion HarklessiDL (6-3, 315)Lexington (Ky.) Frederick DouglassPurdueRedshirt JuniorLance HeardT (6-6, 330)Monroe (La.) NevilleLSU | TennesseeSeniorMark Manfred IIICB (6-1, 175)Marietta (Ga.) SprayberryMissouriRedshirt FreshmanKenny MincheyQB (6-2, 208)Hendersonville (Tenn.) Pope John Paul IINotre DameRedshirt JuniorAntonio O’BerryEDGE (6-6, 240)Huber Heights (Ohio) WayneTiffin (D-II) | Gardner-Webb6th-Year SeniorColeton PriceiOL (6-3, 318)Bowie (Texas) HighBaylorRedshirt SeniorSpencer RadnotiLS (6-3, 230)Canton (Ga.) CherokeeGeorgia StateRedshirt SophomoreCyrus ReyesS (6-1, 200)Taylor (Texas) HighMississippi StateJuniorMark RobinsonOT (6-5, 320)Lyman (Florida)UTEPRedshirt SophomoreHasaan SykesCB (6-0, 185)Tuckert (Ga.) HighWestern CarolinaJuniorTavion WallaceLB (6-1, 239)Baxley (Ga.) Appling CountyArkansasSophomoreDominic WisemaniDL (6-2, 300)Davenport (Iowa) HighSouth AlabamaRedshirt SeniorAdam ZouaguiK (5-11, 188)Herndon (Va.) HighDavidson | South FloridaSenior

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