LIVE BLOG: Who Kentucky is visiting to open the recruiting period

Irving wasn’t the only big man to receive a visit from the Kentucky staff. As Pope and Hart flew out West, Alvin Brooks III made his way to Link Academy in Branson to meet with 7-1 center Ethan Taylor, ranked No. 19 overall in the Rivals Top 150. He’s down to six schools with Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Oklahoma and Oregon all being considered.

He will take an official visit to Lexington for Big Blue Madness from Oct. 10-12.

While traveling around California, the Kentucky staff stopped in Pasadena to meet with four-star center Josh Irving. He picked up an offer from the Wildcats back in July.

Kentucky first met with Tyran Stokes at his school on Thursday, then followed it up with an additional in-home visit later in the evening, KSR+’s Jacob Polacheck reports. The Wildcats are putting the full-court press on the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit.

His mother already told KSR+ that the plan was to commit before the high school season begins. Is Mark Pope going for the kill now?

It was a day of five-stars out in California for Mark Pope and his staff, the head coach joined by assistant Jason Hart at St. John Bosco in Bellflower, CA to check out Tajh Ariza and Christian Collins. The former is rated as the No. 14 overall prospect who picked up an offer from the Wildcats last September while the latter comes in at No. 8 overall who scored his scholarship back in April.

High school teammates turned college teammates? Pope and Hart were there for both.

The one we’ve all been waiting on is finally here. Jason Hart shared on his IG story he was finally going back home to the West Coast, and now we know why: Kentucky is in for No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes.

He’s the Wildcats’ top priority, and now, we’ll see if the staff can close the deal as he inches closer to the finish line in his recruitment.

Standing 7-0, 280 pounds, there isn’t a more physically imposing big in 2026 than Arafan Diane — and Pope wants him. In fact, there is a fascinating connection there to keep an eye on: the top-10 recruit will be coached in high school by Pope’s brother-in-law, Damon Archibald, at Iowa United Prep this fall.

Pope was in for Diane and also adjusted his official visit, which is now set for Sept. 12-14.

We knew that the Wildcats were in for the newly reclassified 6-8 forward on Wednesday, but who represented Kentucky on the visit? That would be Coach Pope and Hart, visiting with the top-10 recruit yesterday morning.

Kentucky has wrapped up its in-home with Deron Rippey with Mark Pope, Alvin Brooks III and Jason Hart all making the trip for the Wildcats. The photo from the visit deserves some immediate takeaways:

• Rippey’s cat is clearly a fan of Coach Pope. That’s gotta be a good sign, right?
• Shoes off, always. Gotta respect the house rules.
• Pope went with the business look wearing a suit while Brooks and Hart went more casual with sweatshirts
• Ron Ron Sr. looks like a very happy dad after meeting with the Wildcats

We’re already getting Pope vs. Kelsey, Pope vs. Scheyer and Pope vs. Barnes battles on Wednesday, why not add a Pope vs. Coach Cal head-to-head to the list? Kentucky will be at five-star guard Jordan Smith Jr.‘s open gym in Virginia on day one of the recruiting period.

There, the Wildcats will be joined by staffs from Arkansas, Duke and Syracuse.

Five-star forward Baba Oladotun reclassified to the class of 2026 back in August and is now the No. 10 overall prospect in the Rivals Industry Ranking. Kentucky offered him as a 2027 recruit last September, and now, the staff continues to prioritize him following his jump.

The Wildcats are in for the 6-8 forward this morning and an official visit is in the process of being scheduled, Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ has learned.

Up next? Another five-star guard with more big-name coaches and programs in attendance competing for his commitment. Deron Rippey Jr. of Blair Academy (NJ) — the former home of Otega Oweh — hosted Pope and the Wildcats for an in-home visit on Wednesday. Elsewhere, Duke’s Jon Scheyer and Tennessee’s Rick Barnes are also on the books for an in-home with the 6-2 prospect ranked No. 12 overall and No. 2 at his position in 2026.

Kentucky’s first stop of the day was an interesting one, considering the overwhelming buzz favoring Louisville for the five-star guard and adidas athlete out of Newport. Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey both met with Tay Kinney shortly after the recruiting period opened at midnight, On3’s Joe Tipton reported. KSR has learned these meetings took place in Atlanta where Kinney is playing his senior season of high school basketball at Overtime Elite.