Three 2026 basketball recruits Mark Pope has to land

These three recruits are already high on Kentucky's radar.

Newport's Taylen Kinney reacts after Newport's Ninth Region championship win over Cooper Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Kinney was injured in the first half. / Tony Tribble for The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mark Pope has been hot on the recruiting trail ever since taking over the head coaching job at Kentucky. Not only is he in good position with a number of the top recruits in the 2025 class, he's also in on a number of 2026 targets, even though most are early in their recruitments.

Let's dive into a couple of targets in the class that are must-gets for Mark Pope and the Wildcats.

1. Tay Kinney

This is an easy one to pick as a must-get for Kentucky in the 2026 class. An in-state native of Newport, the top 20 guard is now at Overtime Elite, teaming up with current 2025 Kentucky commit Jasper Johnson, who could be a good influence on Kentucky's chances with Kinney. This is one Pope and the Wildcats have to wrap up when the time comes.

2. Caleb Holt

The Kentucky staff seems to really like this top 5 guard in the 2026 class, joining a number of other major programs involved with Holt. Those include schools like North Carolina, Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, LSU, Houston, and Kansas State, among others. Kentucky's Mark Pope and Jason Hart have also been in to watch him recently during the live evaluation period. The interest is really showing with Kentucky and Holt.

3. Miikka Muurinen

Kentucky is really picking up steam with one of the best big men in the class in Miikka Muurinen. Serious interest have already been shown, and the 6-foot-10 forward could be exactly what Mark Pope is looking for in a big man. Kentucky has definitely put themselves into the top of Muurinen's recruitment, and there's still a lot of time. One of the best players in the entire class, this is one Kentucky has to land.

Kentucky is in on a number of other prospects like Tyran Stokes and Brandon McCoy, but these three targets are ones the Wildcats are in very good position for and would be great fits for a system like Mark Pope's.