Friday Headlines: Basketball Recruiting Mojo

NCAA Basketball: Champions Classic-Duke at Kentucky — Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Pope is rolling on and off the court.

Kentucky basketball and Mark Pope beat the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday in the State Farm Champions Classic, 77-72. While Duke had top freshman Cooper Flagg and a couple of other really well-rounded freshmen, Kentucky had mostly all veterans see the floor, and that was key late in the game when the Wildcats sealed the victory.

Though Pope was incredibly successful landing these veteran players in the transfer portal, building a roster from year-to-year with just transfer portal players isn’t likely the long-term plan for success.

There has to be some elite-level recruiting of high school players in order to sustain success. Kentucky will lose seniors Amari Williams, Andrew Carr, Ansley Almonor, Jaxson Robinson, Kerr Kriisa, Koby Brea and Lamont Butler in 2025 due to this year being their final season of eligibility.

Translation: Kentucky has to focus on building next year’s roster and a roster that will be able to build some continuity over time.

The good news for next year and beyond is that Pope was able to land in-state freshmen Travis Perry and Trent Noah in his first season at UK. He has also locked in fellow Kentucky natives Jasper Johnson (No. 13 overall prospect) and Malachi Moreno (No. 25 overall prospect) for 2025.

In addition to the two Kentucky natives joining the team next season, Acaden Lewis (No. 32 overall prospect) has also committed to the Wildcats. Caleb Wilson (No. 8 overall prospect) canceled his recruiting trip to Arkansas and will make his decision in the coming weeks — which is a terrific sign for Kentucky.

As it currently stands, Pope and the Wildcats currently have the No. 3 class for 2025 and landing Wilson would only move that number more towards the top.

Combine a top-3 recruiting class with likely returning players Brandon Garrison, Collin Chandler, Otega Oweh, Noah & Perry and Kentucky will only have to seek out a few players in the transfer portal versus the 10 they added this past spring.

As for the Lady Wildcats, they added Kaelyn Carroll (No. 32 overall prospect) earlier this week to their 2025 recruiting class. Kenny Brooks has a much younger roster than Pope, therefore he has time to develop the players he has brought in during his first season as head coach.