Lyles is Kentuckys fourth 2014 commit

Kentucky added a fourth commitment to its quickly growing 2014 recruiting class on Tuesday afternoon when Trey Lyles pledged to the Wildcats.

Lyles, a 6-foot-10 power forward, announced his commitment to Kentucky in an ESPNU-televised press conference at his Indianapolis (Ind.) Arsenal Tech High School.

The five-star forward is the No. 8 prospect in the 2014 Rivals150, and gives Kentucky its highest-ranked commitment so far in the senior class, as well as its second five-star commitment.

The announcement was a particularly emotional one for Wildcats fans, as Lyles was considering only Kentucky and rival Louisville. In choosing UK, not only does Lyles give the Cats their top frontline player, but deals a recruiting blow to the Cardinals, costing them a likely impact player on the interior.

After taking his official visit to Lexington recently for Big Blue Madness, which was at least Lyles' fourth visit to Rupp Arena, the five-star decided that he had seen enough to make his decision.

After UK lost out on another Indiana target, guard James Blackmon, last week, Lyles' commitment alleviates some of the worry from Wildcat fans about the 2014 class, and also proves that the Blackmon decision did not have any ripple effect on Kentucky's recruiting.

Lyles has long been considered the top pure power forward nationally in his 2014 class, and should be a player who brings immediate impact to the court in Lexington with his size, athleticism and versatile skills.

With that versatility and physical ability, Lyles is the ideal candidate to replace freshman Julius Randle, who will likely depart for the NBA after just one season.

Joining Lyles in what is now a four-man recruiting class for Kentucky in 2014 is five-star center Karl Towns, four-star point guard Tyler Ulis and four-star shooting guard Devin Booker. All four of these prospects will be expected to sign a National Letter of Intent during the fall signing period, which runs from November 13-20.

Cats Illustrated was live at the Trey Lyles announcement on Tuesday, and will be bringing you pictures, video and quotes from the UK commitment later this afternoon.