Will Mark Pope have the #1 overall 2025 recruiting class for Kentucky?

Mark Pope is knocking recruiting out of the park in the 2025 cycle.

University of Kentucky’s new men’s basketball coach Mark Pope speaks about the future of Kentucky men’s basketball during his introductory press conference to thousands of fans in Rupp Arena on Sunday, April 14, 2024. / Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mark Pope and the Kentucky coaching staff just landed another member of the 2025 recruiting class as five-star guard Jasper Johnson picked the Wildcats. Johnson joins Malachi Moreno in the 2025 class, so now the Wildcats have two elite players, one being a guard and the other being a seven-foot center.

At the moment Kentucky's recruiting class for the 2025 cycle sits first overall at On3 and is second overall on 247Sports. Knowing the biggest knock on Coach Pope when he took the Kentucky job was his recruiting record, Big Blue Nation has to feel great about how things are going for the new staff on the recruiting trail.

The question is, will Coach Pope and his staff be able to finish with the number one overall recruiting class in the 2025 cycle?

Knowing the players Kentucky is still in the running for there is a chance. The Wildcats are still after players like Chris Cenac Jr., Braylon Mullins, and Tounde Yessoufou. If Coach Pope is able to land one of these players, this class will more than likely finish in the top five. If he can land multiple this class has a chance to be number one overall.

There are some other players not listed that this staff is after, but those three names feel like the ones Kentucky fans need to pay close attention to over the next few months.

Whether Kentucky's class is number one or number five, BBN should feel great about what Coach Pope is doing on the recruiting trail.