In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, John Calipari is no longer the head coach at Kentucky. He achieved a lot in Lexington — a National Title in 2012, multiple Final Fours, and countless NBA Draft picks.
However, there is a new face of the Kentucky basketball program — Mark Pope . From everything I’ve been able to gather, he plans to recruit a little bit differently than Calipari did.
Taking a look ahead at the 2025 recruiting class, Calipari offered 10 players scholarships, eight of whom are five-star recruits. But it doesn’t appear that Mark Pope has that same approach. Reading the tea leaves, he wants less one-and-done talent and more experienced players.
For example, out of the 10 high school players that received an offer from Kentucky under Calipari, Mark Pope has made contact with only four (that On3/KSR knows about).
So which four players has Mark Pope reached out to? Well, each of them make sense. Pope said in his introductory press conference that he wants to recruit homegrown talent and keep them in the state.
It comes to little surprise that the two top players from the state of Kentucky — Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno — have both been in contact with Pope and his staff.
Johnson is a Lexington native and has multiple ties to the Kentucky program. He is a 6-foot-4 combo guard ranked as a five-star recruit and No. 11 overall in the 2025 class. In speaking with him this weekend at EYBL in Memphis, it very much so feels like Mark Pope will prioritize him. Another school that appears like they will prioritize him? Louisville . This could turn into a fun recruiting battle.
Pope has also made contact with local four-star center Malachi Moreno , who attends Great Crossing in Georgetown, Kentucky, located less than 15 miles from the UK campus. The 7-footer tells me via text message that he has indeed heard from the new Kentucky staff. Moreno is ranked as a top-30 recruit in the national 2025 class.
Next up is Five-Star Plus+ Darryn Peterson , the No. 1 ranked shooting guard in the 2025 class. According to Darryn’s father, Darryl, he has officially been reoffered from Mark Pope and the new staff. Peterson had previously named a top eight schools (with Kentucky firmly in the mix), but with all the recent coaching changes, he will reopen his recruitment fully. Prior to the coaching staff change, Kentucky has thought to be in a very good spot with Peterson.
And last but certainly not least is AJ Dybantsa , the unanimous No. 1 player in the class. According to a report from Jack Pilgrim of KSR, Dybantsa says he believes Kentucky reached out to his father: “I’m pretty sure they talked to my dad, he handles all of my recruitment. I think they definitely reached out to him.” There will be a long list of suitors for 6-foot-8 wing from Massahusetts.
Rounding us out
In the less than three weeks that Mark Pope has been Kentucky head coach, it’s become quite clear that his current focus is on the transfer portal. And it should be. With the season just seven months away, he needs players that can help him now. Click here for Kentucky’s current 2024 class (includes high school and portal).
Once the madness of the portal slows down over the next couple of weeks and AAU is back in full force, I expect Pope to start finding some high school guys he likes and extending some offers. To this point, he has not offered any high school players who did not already have a scholarship from Calipari (that we know about).
So for any Kentucky fan that’s feeling a bit restless when it comes to the slow start on the high school recruiting front, don’t worry. Just be patient. It’s coming.
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