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Kentucky Targeting BYU's Mark Pope to Be Next Men's Basketball Coach, per Report
It appears the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team will have their new leader in place soon.
ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Thursday that Kentucky is targeting BYU's Mark Pope as the program's next head coach. Terms of the deal have not been agreed upon.
Pope would replace John Calipari, who left Kentucky after 15 seasons for the open job at Arkansas.
Pope, 51, has coached at BYU for the past five seasons. The Cougars registered a 110–52 record in his tenure and made two NCAA tournament appearances in 2021 and '24. Before his time at BYU, Pope coached the Utah Valley Wolverines from 2015 to '19.
In 2023–24, BYU went 23–11 in its first season in the Big 12 and earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Cougars' trip to the Big Dance ended in the first round, however, losing 71–67 to No. 11 Duquesne.
If Pope and Kentucky reach an agreement, he will have big shoes to fill in Lexington. Calipari reached the NCAA tournament in 13 of 15 seasons at Kentucky and won a national championship in 2012.
Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.