Kentucky basketball has been hard at work on the 2025 recruiting class, but they’re now able to contact 2026 recruits, and Mark Pope has begun to do so. It should be no surprise that he’s starting with an in-state prospect in guard Jayden Johnson.
Johnson is the number 50 overall recruit on the 247 composite board, and is rated four stars. The 6’5″, 175 lb shooting guard is the number two player in Kentucky and he’s the 11th ranked shooting guard in the class.
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The Wildcats have had Johnson in for a couple of unofficial visits already, but both occurred while John Calipari was still the coach. Now, Pope is picking up where Cal left off in recruiting the Louisville product.
Kentucky basketball fans have the expectation that top recruits will play there. Pope has offers to several players in the 2025 class, and now, has begun work on 2026. Fans will be happy to know that he is doing his best meet their expectations.