Mark Pope is the new UK coach. What is his history with high school basketball recruiting?

The new men’s basketball coach at Kentucky will arrive in Lexington with a far less-accomplished recruiting résumé than the guy he’s replacing.

Over his 15 seasons in Lexington, former UK coach John Calipari made top-ranked, five-star filled high school recruiting classes the norm.

Of the 81 total true freshman players that Calipari brought to Kentucky, 75 of them were four- or five-star recruits. That’s more than 92%. Despite plenty of changes in the college basketball world, Calipari’s recruiting of high school players remained elite.

Kentucky’s new head man — 51-year-old Mark Pope — hasn’t been in the same stratosphere when it comes to high school recruiting during his two previous head coaching stops at Utah Valley and BYU.

A member of the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship team, Pope didn’t have anywhere near the level of recruiting resources at Utah Valley or BYU that he’ll have access to at UK.

There’s also the context of the school that Pope was recruiting for: BYU has a religious affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, although Pope recruited a wide variety of players in both high school and transfer portal recruiting.

But something that Pope can point to? The recruits he’s brought in have contributed to winning.

Over his four seasons at Utah Valley, the Wolverines (who play in the Western Athletic Conference) went a combined 77-56, and appeared in the College Basketball Invitational three times. Over his five seasons at BYU, Pope led the Cougars to a 110–52 record and a pair of NCAA Tournament trips.

But with that said, Pope is about to wade into unfamiliar waters when it comes to high school recruiting.

The merits of being a strong high school basketball recruiter can be debated in today’s experience-filled college landscape. But make no mistake, Pope’s résumé as a recruiter is a stark departure from that of Calipari’s.

It’s a change that will take some getting used to.

History of BYU men’s basketball recruiting under Mark Pope

With all due respect to Utah Valley, those four seasons of recruiting to a WAC school couldn’t be further away from the reality at Kentucky, where Pope will be expected to recruit at a high level.

Since 2011, UK finished with the top-ranked recruiting class (per the 247Sports team rankings) on six occasions in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020 and 2023.

It would be ill-advised and unrealistic to want Pope to match Calipari’s recruiting results at UK. But still, Pope will need to attract some young, talented players to Lexington.

The five seasons Pope spent at BYU provided a closer — if still significantly different — data point with reference to the recruiting success that Pope could have at UK.

These were each of Pope’s high school recruiting classes at BYU, along with relevant notes and information about each of the first-year players Pope coached with the Cougars.

This includes BYU’s 2019 recruiting class. Pope was hired in Provo in April 2019.

▪ 2019: Nate Hansen (point guard) and Trey Stewart (combo guard).

A 6-foot-3 guard, Hansen was ranked as a three-star prospect and the No. 65 point guard in the country by 247Sports. Hansen signed to play at BYU (over scholarship offers from California-Davis and Portland) while former head coach Dave Rose was leading the program. But, Hansen didn’t play at BYU until the 2021-22 season because he served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arkansas.

In that 2021-22 season, Hansen played in 10 games. He entered the transfer portal after that season.

A 6-2 guard, Stewart was unranked as a high school prospect. Stewart previously signed to play for Pope at Utah Valley. Stewart was released from that paperwork with the Wolverines and instead signed with BYU.

Stewart didn’t play his first game at BYU until the 2021-22 season because he served a two-year mission to England for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Stewart has played at BYU for the last three seasons. He played in 26 games last season and averaged 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

Trevin Knell, a 6-5 shooting guard, signed to play at BYU in November 2017 for Rose. Knell began serving a mission for The Church of Jesus in Uruguay in July 2017 and didn’t enroll at BYU until 2019.

Knell has been in Provo for the last five seasons, although he didn’t play in the 2022-23 season due to a shoulder injury. He played in 33 of BYU’s 34 games last season, with per-game averages of 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Knell was BYU’s third-leading scorer and shot 38.5% on 3-pointers.

▪ 2020: Dallin Hall (point guard), Caleb Lohner (shooting guard), Richie Saunders (shooting guard) and Tanner Toolson (guard).

A 6-3 prospect, Hall was ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 444 overall player in the country by the 247Sports Composite. Hall picked BYU over college scholarship offers from Oregon State and Utah State, among other schools.

Hall served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines and enrolled at BYU ahead of the 2022-23 season. Hall has been a regular starter for BYU in each of the last two seasons.

Last season, Hall averaged 9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Hall’s 5.1 assists per game were a top-50 mark nationally.

He’s also a career 36.2% 3-point shooter.

A 6-6 prospect, Lohner was ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 38 power forward in the country by 247Sports.

Lohner played the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons at BYU. He started 31 of BYU’s 35 games that season, and averaged 7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game across his two seasons with the Cougars. Lohner transferred to Baylor in the 2022 offseason and he was a bench player for the Bears in each of the last two seasons.

Lohner is back in the NCAA transfer portal.

A 6-5 guard, Saunders was ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 315 overall player in the country by the 247Sports Composite. He committed to BYU in October 2019, and also had scholarship offers from Creighton, Oregon State, Utah and Utah State.

Saunders served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and has been a bench player for Pope and the Cougars for the last two seasons. Saunders has played in 68 games in his BYU career and is averaging 7.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

A 6-5 guard, Toolson was an unranked high school recruit out of Washington state. Toolson also had reported scholarship offers from Boise State, Utah and Utah State, among other schools. Toolson served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and played in six games for BYU during the 2022-23 season.

Toolson then transferred to Utah Valley, where he started 31 games and averaged 9.5 points per contest this season.

Hunter Erickson, a 6-3 guard, signed to play at BYU in October 2017 for Rose, the former head coach. Erickson picked BYU over scholarship offers from Cal State Northridge, California Santa Barbara and Utah. Erickson served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in North Carolina and didn’t make his BYU debut until the 2020-21 season.

Erickson spent two seasons as a sparsely used bench player for the Cougars before transferring to Salt Lake Community College, and then to Utah.

▪ 2021: Atiki Ally Atiki (center), Fousseyni Traore (center) and Jake Wahlin (power forward).

A 6-11 prospect, Atiki was unranked as an international recruit. A native of Tanzania, Atiki played prep basketball in Canada and also had scholarship offers from Oklahoma and San Diego State.

Atiki committed to BYU in February 2021. He’s been a reserve player for BYU in each of the last three seasons. Atiki played in 23 games last season with per game averages of 4 points and 2.9 rebounds.

A 6-7 prospect, Traore was ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 51 center in the nation by 247Sports. Originally from West Africa, Traore played prep basketball at Wasatch Academy in Utah, which is a popular destination for Cougars commits.

Traore was a regular starter for BYU in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, but shifted to a mainly bench role last season. In 92 career college basketball games, Traore is averaging 11.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Traore was BYU’s second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder last season.

A 6-7 prospect, Wahlin signed with BYU but never played for the school. Wahlin committed to BYU as part of the Cougars’ 2021 recruiting class and picked the school over scholarship offers from Arizona State, Nevada, San Diego State and Utah State, among other schools.

Wahlin was ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 186 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class by the 247Sports Composite.

Wahlin returned home from a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Lithuania in May 2023, but then committed to Utah. He appeared in 20 games for the Utes this past season.

▪ 2022: Collin Chandler (combo guard) and Braeden Moore (power forward).

A 6-4 prospect, Chandler was ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 37 overall player in the country by the 247Sports Composite.

Chandler opted to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prior to enrolling at BYU, and is set to return home from his two-year service this summer.

With Pope as BYU’s head coach, Chandler was the highest-ranked recruit to directly sign with BYU. Per the ESPN recruiting rankings, Chandler was the highest-ranked BYU recruit overall since Eric Mika in 2013.

A 6-8 prospect, Moore was ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 293 overall player in the country by the 247Sports Composite. He was previously committed to Rutgers and also reported scholarship offers from the likes of Arizona State, Auburn, Kansas, Memphis and Wisconsin among other schools.

Moore never saw the floor at BYU: He redshirted the 2022-23 season and then transferred to Oral Roberts, where he played in 14 games last season.

▪ 2023: Marcus Adams Jr. (small forward).

A 6-8 prospect, Adams was ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 104 overall player in the country by the 247Sports Composite.

Originally part of the 2024 recruiting class, Adams graduated high school a year early and initially signed with Kansas. He then left the Jayhawks and committed to Gonzaga. Then, still having not played a college game, Adams signed with BYU.

Adams played in just one game for BYU last season amid hardships on and off the court. He’s in the transfer portal.

▪ 2024: Brooks Bahr (combo guard) and Isaac Davis (power forward).

A 6-4 prospect, Bahr is ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 187 overall player in the country by the 247Sports Composite.

Bahr, a left-handed guard, committed to BYU last November, and has signed a national letter of intent with the Cougars. He picked BYU from a final list of schools that also included Saint Mary’s, Southern California, Utah and Wake Forest.

As a high school junior, Bahr averaged 21.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game, according to MaxPreps. Bahr averaged 17.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game last season as a high school senior.

A 6-6 recruit, Davis is ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 168 overall player in the country by the 247Sports Composite.

Davis was BYU’s first commit in the 2024 class and committed to the Cougars in April 2023. He picked BYU from a group of scholarship offers that also included Oklahoma, UNLV, Utah State, VCU and Washington State, among others.

Davis has also signed a national letter of intent to play at BYU.

According to MaxPreps, Davis averaged 17.6 points and 9 rebounds per game during his junior season. Last season as a high school senior, Davis averaged 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

BYU doesn’t have any verbal commits in the 2025 or 2026 recruiting classes.

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