Class of 2019 small forward DJ Jeffries, a four-star prospect from Olive Branch, Mississippi, backed away from his commitment to John Calipari and Kentucky on Monday.

"After careful consideration prayer and countless hours of consulting with my family I decided to reopen recruitment," Jeffries said on Twitter. "It was a hard decision but I am confident that taking my time to choose the right school for me to better myself educationally and athletically is the right choice."

Jeffries, who is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 37 overall player in 2019 and the top player in the state, committed to Kentucky back in mid-March. But his verbal commitment came just one week before Penny Hardaway, under whom Jeffries played on the AAU circuit last summer, took the coaching job at Memphis.

After Jeffries made his UK commitment, his father appeared on ESPN 92.9 in Memphis and said the Tigers were a factor in his initial decision-making process. But no Penny -- at least at the time -- left UK as his best option. Things have obviously changed since then, leaving Memphis in a position to potentially nab him from Calipari's clutches.

After taking the Memphis job in late March, Hardaway quickly assembled a functional six-man recruiting class that ranked No. 1 in the AAC and 28th nationally, according to 247Sports. And as Gary Parrish wrote about this week, that string of success appears to be only a fraction of what Hardaway could pull in eventually, with he and staffer Mike Miller both claiming close ties to a number of 2019 prospects, including No. 1 overall recruit James Wiseman.

With Jeffries opting to re-open his recruitment, Kentucky is left with just one commitment in its 2019 recruiting class in five-star guard Tyrese Maxey.