Kentucky freshman D.J. Wagner entering transfer portal - ESPN

Kentucky freshman D.J. Wagner, a former top-five recruit in the 2023 class, entered the transfer portal on Monday.

Wagner, a 6-foot-4 guard from Camden, New Jersey, immediately becomes one of the more intriguing backcourt players in the portal.

The son of former high school phenom and NBA player Dajuan Wagner, D.J. Wagner was considered the top player in the 2023 class for much of his high school career. He was one of the best scorers on the Nike EYBL circuit and led Camden High School to the New Jersey state title.

Wagner also earned MVP honors at the McDonald's All-American Game.

He finished his high school career ranked No. 4 in the ESPN 100 and entered Kentucky with first-round NBA draft projections. After a couple of early 20-point efforts against Saint Joseph's and Marshall, however, he was inconsistent on the offensive end.

Wagner finished the season scoring in single-digits in 10 of his final 13 games, including a scoreless outing in Kentucky's NCAA tournament loss to Oakland.

He was still able to show flashes of his high-level playmaking ability, including 18 points and 10 assists vs. Georgia; 18 points vs. Texas A&M; 14 points and five assists against North Carolina; and 19 points against Arkansas late in the season.

He finished his freshman season averaging 9.9 points and 3.3 assists.

Wagner was the subject of an intense recruiting battle between Kentucky and Louisville. Then-Kentucky coach John Calipari coached Wagner's father at Memphis, while then-Louisville coach Kenny Payne played with Wagner's grandfather, Milt, on Louisville's 1986 national championship team. Wagner's stepbrother, Kareem Watkins, was a walk-on at Kentucky, and Payne hired Milt Wagner as the program's director of player development and