LEXINGTON — After Mark Pope was hired as Kentucky basketballOne of the reservations critics had about him was about his recruiting skills in high school. Or lack thereof. In nine seasons as a college coach, four to Utah Valley and five to BYUhe had never signed a class ranked higher than 80th nationally. And he had only landed one high school recruit who earned more than three stars: Colin Chandler was a four-star prospect in 2022 who originally signed with BYU. Chandler is now in the UK after completing a two-year mission.
After more than eight months on the job in Lexington, Pope has resoundingly answered all the questions about his high school recruiting prowess: He has Kentucky in the running to sign one of the nation’s top 2025 classes – and perhaps beat out his predecessor, John Calipari, for the SEC’s No. 1 carry.
Here is a breakdown of Wild cats” Class of 2025 — who they signed, who they’re still recruiting and how the outcome stacks up nationally and among SEC teams, in Pope’s first full recruiting cycle as UK’s coach :
Who are the players that Kentucky Basketball has signed in the 2025 recruiting class?
UK signed three players in the 2025 cycle: Jasper Johnson, Acaden Lewis and Malachi Moreno.
Johnson and Lewis are guards, while Moreno is a center.
How well-liked are Kentucky Basketball’s 2025 signees?
According to the 247Sports Compositeall three of the Wildcats’ 2025 signees are among the top 30 players in their class.
Johnson checks in at No. 16, followed by Moreno (28) and Lewis (30).
Here’s where each player is ranked by the four major recruiting services:
247Sports
Rivals
Le3
ESPN
Where does Kentucky Basketball recruiting for 2025 stand nationally?
The British class is ranked sixth in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Duke has the highest-rated class in the country, followed by Houston, UConn, Kansas And Arkansas.
Where does Kentucky Basketball recruiting for 2025 stand among conference teams?
As noted above, Arkansas is the only SEC school with a higher-rated 2025 class than Kentucky as of December 16.
After Arkansas and UK, Mississippi State, Alabama and LSU round out the top five.
Here’s how the 16-team league stacks up, according to the 247Sports Composite:
Who is the highest rated prospect playing in the SEC next season?
Among players committed, the highest-ranked 2025 prospect committed to an SEC team is five-star guard. Méléek Thomaswho has signed with Arkansas and Calipari. Thomas is ranked No. 8 overall, according to the 247Sports Composite, placing himself as the No. 1 shooting guard in the 2025 cycle. He is playing his final high school season at Overtime Elite in Atlanta. Before joining OTE, he played Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, Pennsylvania. As a junior, he averaged 23.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 3.3 steals per game en route to leading Lincoln Park to a 28-3 record and the class 4A title in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League.
Which 2025 recruits is Kentucky still actively recruiting?
At the moment, while the UK has plenty of offers to prospects for 2025, the list of those considered a priority is sparse.
The main target: the five-star attacker Caleb Wilsonwho plays for Episcopal of the Holy Innocents in Atlanta. He was long thought to be a Kentucky fan. One reason: He has often expressed his hope of playing alongside Lewis in college. Wilson cut his list of finalists at five schools: UK, North Carolina, Ohio State, Tennessee and Central Florida. According to 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Travis BranhamWilson will narrow his list to two finalists this month – with those schools expected to be UK and UNC.
The Wildcats already beat out the Tar Heels to secure Johnson’s signature. Can Kentucky deny North Carolina a second five-star talent in 2025?
If Wilson doesn’t choose the UK, the other 2025 prospect he’s still in contention with is Nate Ament. Like Wilson, he is a five-star forward. Unlike Wilson, the Wildcats don’t appear to be in pole position with Ament. Anyway, Earlier this month, Ament said ESPN Director of Basketball Recruiting Paul Biancardi that Kentucky will receive a visit. At some point. Ament did not detail Exactly when the visit will take place. But Pope and his team get a visit, which gives the Wildcats a fighting chance, at the very least.
Ament plans to make his decision after his final visit, which will coincide with Kansas State’s home game against Arizona on Feb. 11.
Worth noting: If Wilson or Ament choose Kentucky — or another SEC school — they will overtake Thomas as the conference’s highest-rated incoming signee. Ament is No. 4 nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings, one spot ahead of Wilson.
Contact Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article was originally published in the Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball and Mark Pope making waves in the 2025 recruiting cycle
