Mark Pope: Breaking News, Rumors & Highlights

Kentucky's Mark Pope Makes Move on Five-Star Recruit

It is safe to say that Mark Pope has found his bearings returning to Lexington, Kentucky, as the head coach of the Wildcats. Although the Wildcats saw an exit in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, their offseason has been one of the best in all of college basketball.

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Kentucky basketball listed as one of five winners in the transfer portal

Mark Pope had a lot of work to do in the transfer portal to put together a roster capable of winning a national title, and he hit it out of the park. The Wildcats added five players via the transfer portal, all of whom will have a significant role in helping this team win a lot of basketball games.

College Basketball News / Athlon Sports / April 29

Kentucky’s Defensive Identity Takes Shape with Two Top Transfers

As Kentucky entered a pivotal offseason under new head coach Mark Pope, there were two clear priorities: upgrade the team’s physicality and solidify its defensive identity.

Tuesday Headlines: Improving Kentucky Basketball’s Defense

Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope’s first season in Lexington was quite a success. His Wildcats beat Duke, Gonzaga, Louisville, Florida, and Tennessee (twice) while also winning both an SEC Tournament game and an NCAA Tournament game, a mark Kentucky hadn’t seen since 2019.

Duke Blue Devils News / Yardbarker Quizzes

The 'Naismith Men's Player of the Year Award winner' quiz

The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of the inventor of basketball (in 1891), Dr. James Naismith.Can you name every men's college basketball player who has won the Naismith Award?

The 'Mens basketball Consensus All-Americans since 2020' quiz

The 'AP Men's College Basketball Coach of the Year winners' quiz

The 'Mythical mascot' quiz

College Basketball News / Athlon Sports / April 28

Kentucky Reveals Transfer Portal Additions After Mark Pope's First Season

After a trip to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, the offseason has been very impressive for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats. The Wildcats have arguably been the busiest program in the transfer portal.

College Basketball News / Athlon Sports / April 28

Kentucky Basketball Signees Get First Taste of Lexington During Official Visits

It was a big weekend for Kentucky Men’s Basketball as several of its newest additions made their first official visit to Lexington. Denzel Aberdeen, Jaland Lowe, Mouhamed Dioubate, and Kam Williams — four of the program’s five incoming transfer portal additions — got their first true taste of life as Wildcats.

College Basketball News / Kentucky Wildcats on SI / April 28

Two of the top five defenders in the transfer portal are now Kentucky Wildcats

Entering the offseason, Mark Pope and the Kentucky staff wanted to check a couple of boxes to improve on with physicality and defense. Safe to say, they did just that through the transfer portal.

Mark Pope News / Kentucky Wildcats on SI / April 28

Mark Pope should have one goal this offseason for the Kentucky Wildcats

The 2024-25 season was an excellent first year in Lexington for Mark Pope as he took a team full of transfer portal players to the Sweet 16 despite a ton of injuries.

College Basketball News / Athlon Sports / April 27

Kentucky Reloads With Transfer Talent and Five-Star Freshman for 2025-26 Season

Mark Pope is quickly making his mark in Lexington, and the 2025-26 Kentucky Wildcats are shaping up to be one of the most exciting teams in the country. According to Jeff Borzelo of ESPN, who ranked Kentucky No.

Kentucky Wildcats News / Kentucky Wildcats on SI / April 27

Kentucky basketball makes the cut for a top ten recruit in the 2026 class

Now that the Kentucky roster for the 2025-26 season is finished, aside from the possibility of one more player, Mark Pope and his staff are now recruiting the 2026 class hard.

College Basketball News / Athlon Sports / April 26

Kentucky Makes Top 15 for 5-Star Forward Anthony Thompson

The Kentucky Wildcats are officially in the running for one of the top prospects in the 2026 class, as 5-star forward Anthony Thompson trimmed his college list to 15 schools — and Kentucky made the cut.

Mark Pope catches up with Rob Dillingham, Julius Randle and other former Wildcats on the road

Pope was seen catching up with some former Wildcats. Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats coaching staff have been on the recruiting trail for the past week.

Kentucky Wildcats News / A Sea of Blue / April 25

Kentucky makes the cut for top-5 recruit Anthony Thompson

The Cats are in the hunt for this big-time recruit! The Kentucky Wildcats are among 15 schools in contention for 2026 5-star forward Anthony Thompson. Mark Pope and Cody Fueger visited Thompson this past week, and Thompson announced on his Instagram on Friday that he cut his list from 30+ schools to 15.

Mark Pope News / Kentucky Wildcats on SI / April 25

ESPN projects the 2025-26 starting lineup for the Kentucky Wildcats

Unless Mark Pope adds another depth piece to the 2025-26 roster, the team is all but made, and it looks like one of the best in the nation. Coach Pope has done an excellent job in year two putting together a roster that is capable of winning a National Championship.

College Basketball News / Kentucky Wildcats on SI / April 25

Jayden Quaintance has to improve in one area of his game before the 2025-26 season

Before going down with a torn ACL, Jayden Quaintance was having a heck of a freshman season. He averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.6 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game.

Mark Pope News / Kentucky Wildcats on SI / April 24

Mark Pope has one more thing to prove on the high school recruiting front

Mark Pope has done an A+ job in his year as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. Coach Pope has done a heck of a job getting the Kentucky fan base back into this program and took his first team to the Sweet 16 despite being banged up.

Mark Pope News / Athlon Sports / April 23

Mark Pope and Kentucky Staff Hit the Road to Scout Key 2026 Targets

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope and his staff hit the recruiting trail in full force this week, making key stops to visit several high-priority prospects in the 2026 class.

College Basketball News / Kentucky Wildcats on SI / April 23

Mark Pope had great things to say about Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen

Kentucky's most recent addition to the 2025-26 roster via the transfer portal was Denzel Aberdeen, who came over to the Wildcats from the Florida Gators.

College Basketball News / Athlon Sports / April 23

Mark Pope Visits 4-Star Recruit at His Home Amid Kentucky Rumors

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope has been quite active since the season-ending Sweet 16 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers on March 28. He's hit the

College Basketball News / Yardbarker / April 21

Kentucky lands another big piece in Florida transfer guard Denzel Aberdeen

Mark Pope has been busy building the Kentucky Wildcats into the best version he can put together for the 2025-26 season. He's now brought in five incoming players, each with a rather intriguing skill set that they'll bring to the table.

Ranking the NCAA men's tournament champions since 1990

The 'Kentucky men's basketball coaches' quiz

College Basketball News / NCAA Basketball on ClutchPoints / April 18

Kentucky basketball, Mark Pope hosting ex-Alabama, Kansas star in portal visit

The Kentucky basketball team will be hosting an important college basketball transfer portal target soon as Rylan Griffen will be on campus soon. Griffen is in the transfer portal for the second time in his college career as he started his career at Alabama before leaving for Kansas.

College Basketball News / NCAA Basketball on ClutchPoints / April 11

Top-25 recruit’s message to Kentucky’s Mark Pope after decommitting

Following a decent 2024-25 season for Kentucky in the first year with Mark Pope at the helm as head coach, the Wildcats lost a prized commit as four-star guard Acaden Lewis made the decision to re-open his recruitment and decommit from Kentucky.

Mark Pope News / Yardbarker / April 8

Kentucky brings former elite recruit back home with a plan

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have been busy in the transfer portal.

Former Alabama forward Mouhamed Dioubate transfers to Kentucky

Ranking the NCAA men's tournament champions since 1990

The 'Kentucky men's basketball coaches' quiz

Kentucky Wildcats News / Yardbarker / March 29

Why Kentucky's 2024-25 season was a success despite Sweet 16 loss

Kentucky fans should feel optimistic about what Mark Pope accomplished in his first season.

Kentucky players shared the same message after Sweet 16 exit vs. Tennessee

Tennessee's defense smothers Kentucky, books trip to Elite Eight in revenge win

Ranking the NCAA men's tournament champions since 1990

The 'Kentucky men's basketball coaches' quiz

Kentucky Wildcats News / Field Level Media / March 24

Kentucky's Sweet 16 run earns Mark Pope another year on contract

While Kentucky was busy earning its way into the Sweet 16, head coach Mark Pope was adding another year onto his Wildcats contract, as well as earning a hefty bonus at the same time.

Kentucky tops Illinois, makes first Sweet 16 since 2019

Pope reveals unusual request that helped Kentucky get to Sweet 16

Kentucky Wildcats News / Yardbarker / March 17

Kentucky HC issues challenge to fans ahead of NCAA Tournament

Kentucky will begin its quest for another national championship when it faces Troy in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, and head coach Mark Pope is hoping to see plenty of Wildcat fans in attendance.

Of record 14 SEC teams selected to NCAA Tournament, which have the best chance of going on a run?

SEC's NCAA Tournament record shows how far the conference has come

Ranking the NCAA men's tournament champions since 1990

The 'Kentucky men's basketball coaches' quiz