LEXINGTON — After Mark Pope‘s hire as Kentucky basketball‘s newest coach, one reservation critics had about him was his high school recruiting chops. Or lack thereof. In nine seasons as a college coach, four at Utah Valley and five at BYU, he’d never signed a class ranked higher than 80th nationally. And he’d landed just one high school recruit who checked in with more than three stars: Collin Chandler was a four-star prospect in 2022 who originally signed with BYU. Chandler now is at UK after serving a two-year mission.
After more than eight months on the job in Lexington, Pope has resoundingly answered any questions about his high school recruiting prowess: He has Kentucky in the mix to sign one of the nation’s top 2025 classes — and possibly beat his predecessor, John Calipari, for the No. 1 haul in the SEC.
Here’s a breakdown of the Wildcats‘ 2025 class — who they’ve signed, who they’re still recruiting and how the haul stacks up nationally, and among SEC teams, in Pope’s first full recruiting cycle as UK’s coach:
Who are the players Kentucky basketball has signed in the 2025 recruiting class?
UK has 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 highly regarded are Kentucky basketball’s 2025 signees?
Per the 247Sports Composite, all 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 is where each player is ranked by the four major recruiting services:
247Sports
Rivals
On3
ESPN
Where does Kentucky basketball’s 2025 recruiting haul rank nationally?
UK’s class is ranked sixth in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Duke has the nation’s top-rated class, followed by Houston, UConn, Kansas and Arkansas.
Where does Kentucky basketball’s 2025 recruiting haul rank among conference teams?
As noted above, Arkansas is the only SEC school with a higher-rated 2025 class than Kentucky as of Dec. 16.
After Arkansas and UK, Mississippi State, Alabama and LSU round out the top five.
Here’s how the 16-team league stacks up, per the 247Sports Composite:
Who is the highest-rated prospect who will play in the SEC next season?
Among committed players, the highest-ranked 2025 prospect pledged to an SEC team is five-star guard Meleek Thomas, who has signed with Arkansas and Calipari. Thomas is ranked No. 8 overall, per the 247Sports Composite, slotting in as the No. 1 shooting guard in the 2025 cycle. He’s playing his senior season of high school at Overtime Elite in Atlanta. Prior to joining OTE, he played at 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.
What 2025 recruits is Kentucky still actively recruiting?
At this point, while UK has numerous offers out to 2025 prospects, the list of those it’s made a priority are few and far between.
The primary target: five-star power forward Caleb Wilson, who stars for Holy Innocents’ Episcopal in Atlanta. He’s long been thought to be a Kentucky lean. One reason: He’s often stated his hope of playing alongside Lewis in college. Wilson has cut his list of finalists to five schools: UK, North Carolina, Ohio State, Tennessee and Central Florida. According to 247Sports national recruiting analyst Travis Branham, Wilson will narrow his list to two finalists this month — with those schools expected to be UK and UNC.
The Wildcats already beat the Tar Heels to land Johnson’s signature. Can Kentucky deny North Carolina a second five-star talent in 2025?
If Wilson doesn’t choose UK, the other 2025 prospect it’s still in the running with is Nate Ament. Like Wilson, he’s a five-star power forward. Unlike Wilson, the Wildcats don’t appear to be in the pole position with Ament. Even so, earlier this month Ament told ESPN basketball recruiting director Paul Biancardi that Kentucky will receive a visit. At some point. Ament didn’t detail exactly when the visit will be. But Pope and his staff receiving a visit gives the Wildcats a fighting chance, if nothing else.
Ament plans to make his decision after his final visit, which will coincide with Kansas State’s home game versus Arizona on Feb. 11.
Of note: If either Wilson or Ament chooses Kentucky — or another SEC school — they would leapfrog Thomas as the highest-rated incoming signee in the conference. Ament is No. 4 nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings, one spot ahead of Wilson.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball, Mark Pope making waves in 2025 recruiting cycle
