Mark Pope is changing how he's perceived as a recruiter

It’s amazing how quickly things can change.

This time last week, Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope was still trying to land his first true Big Fish. The Wildcats were lacking a genuine star for next season’s roster and had yet to land a prized high school recruit. Both have been addressed since then. Fast forward to Sunday morning, and the perception surrounding Pope’s recruiting abilities has done a 180.

Landing Milan Momcilovic was the first real indicator that Pope can close the deal. Ranked as the No. 3 overall player to hit the transfer portal this offseason, Momcilovic was a much-needed piece for Kentucky going into 2026-27. The 6-foot-8 wing was college basketball’s top three-point shooter last season at 48.7 percent. He earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors as a junior with Iowa State as a result. UK was able to lock him down for a pretty penny over the likes of Louisville and Arizona.

It was a massive recruiting win at the time. Pope had landed Jayden Quaintance, also a prized transfer, out of the portal last offseason via Arizona State, but everyone knew he wouldn’t play right away due to his ACL injury. Fair or not to Pope’s skills as a recruiter, the injury aspect was baked into Quaintance’s recruitment. The 6-foot-9 big man ended up playing just four games for Kentucky before heading off to the NBA Draft.

Meanwhile, Momcilovic is healthy and ready to play right away. He expects to be the headliner of Kentucky’s roster next season and an ideal fit in Pope’s offense. Hindsight is always 20/20, but Momcilovic is a bigger recruiting win for UK than Quaintance was.

“Coach Pope seems very genuine and just an overall good human being that you want your kid to be around,” Nick Momcilovic, Milan’s father, recently told KSR+. “He says the right things without going over the top and being too much of a salesman. From a parent’s perspective, you want someone coaching your kid that you know has their back, both on the court and off, especially when things may not be going great, and he seems like a person that we can trust.”

But Pope wasn’t done there. After proving he can get it done in the portal, he did the same with the high school ranks. 6-foot-6 shooting guard Ryan Hampton, who is ranked No. 6 overall in the 2027 class, surprisingly committed to Kentucky on Sunday morning. Hampton spent the weekend officially visiting UK’s campus, enjoying himself so much that he went ahead and pulled the trigger.

Hampton immediately becomes the highest-ranked recruit to ever commit to Pope as a head coach. SMU, Nebraska, and LSU were after him heavily. UK was on Hampton for a while now, but with new assistant coach Mo Williams helping lead the charge, a scholarship offer came in late April, leading to the OV and eventual commitment in quick succession.

“I chose Kentucky because of Coach Pope and Coach Mo Williams,” Hampton told Rivals. “They showed me a vision and a plan for me to reach my ultimate dreams and goals. They will challenge me to be the best I can be on and off the court.”

Pope has landed highly-ranked recruits before, but all of the came with minor caveats. Collin Chandler was a big signing for Pope when he was at BYU, but Chandler was from Utah. Pope then landed five-star guard Jasper Johnson and four-star center Malachi Moreno. But both were from the Bluegrass State. Moreno has ended up being a huge win as time went along, but Chandler and Johnson are playing for different coaches now.

With Hampton, he’s a Texas native who plays high school basketball in Florida. There were no obvious direct ties to Pope or Kentucky for him with this recruitment. The ‘Cats just straight-up had the better pitch. Maybe all Pope needed to get in his recruiting bag was the beach beard he’s been rocking lately.

Whatever it is, there is real recruiting mojo in the Joe Craft Center for what feels like the first time since Pope took over as head coach. Now let’s see what he can do with it. The timing couldn’t be better ahead of a critical third season in charge.