Kentucky Wildcats fans got used to top recruiting classes every year while John Calipari was the head coach. When Mark Pope took over, many wondered if he could continue that trend and bring the top high school players to Lexington.
In the current college basketball climate, having the best recruits doesn’t necessarily equal success. Still, his first official class looks to be a good one, even if it’s not as loaded as past classes.
The Wildcats got a recent boost to their class with the commitment of forward Braydon Hawthorne. The top 40 player moved Kentucky’s 2025 class up inside the top ten, according to On3, who have them at number seven overall.
Hawthorne joins Malachi Moreno, Jasper Johnson, and Andrija Jelavic to round out the group. Kentucky and Pope have one of the best transfer classes in the country, but they have a pretty good recruiting class as well.