Alvin Brooks III has an impressive record of recent recruiting success

Mark Pope‘s hiring of Alvin Brooks III is being praised by national media folks from all over the country. Brooks was the top assistant at Baylor under Scott Drew, helping lead the Bears to unprecedented success, including winning the 2021 national championship.

But after eight seasons in Waco, Brooks is coming to Lexington where he’ll look to replicate the same success he had in the Big 12. Part of that success came as a result of excellent recruiting. Brooks played a significant role in landing several of Baylor’s five-star high school prospects. Now, he’ll be able to use the Kentucky brand as part of his pitch.

Brooks has been credited as the lead recruiter for a trio of five-stars: Keyonte George (2022), Ja’Kobe Walter (2023), and VJ Edgecombe (2024). He was also the lead recruiter for four-star and top-50 recruit Langston Love (2021) and brought in seven-foot Community College star Noah Boyed, who will join Baylor this offseason. We can even include Jeremy Sochan (2021), who was a one-and-done lottery pick at Baylor and was recruited by Brooks.

The early returns on three of those players have been about as positive as you could ask for. George was tabbed Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2022-23 and made Second Team All-Big 12. The lead guard was taken with the 16th overall pick in last summer’s draft and had a tremendous rookie season with the Utah Jazz. Meanwhile, Sochan was named Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year in 2022 then made NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2023 for the San Antonio Spurs.

Walter followed an identical path to George in his lone season at Baylor. The 6-foot-5 guard won 2024 Big 12 Freshman of the Year and cracked the All-Big 12 Third Team. He’s a projected lottery pick in this summer’s NBA Draft. The Bears will expect something similar from Edgecombe — who was recruited heavily to Kentucky by former head coach John Calipari — once he suits up for the 2024-25 season, too.

Even Love, a 6-foot-5 guard, was a terrific find by Brooks and Co. He was a top 40 recruit from the 2021 class but tore his ACL ahead of his freshman season. After finding his footing as a sophomore in 2022-23, he developed into an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention this past season. Love shot 48 percent from deep in ’23-24 on 3.1 attempts per outing.

It’s not just the recruiting aspect that makes Brooks stand out though. It’s his ability to then help develop these freshmen into future stars that should get the Big Blue Nation buzzing. With endless recruiting ties in the talent-rich state of Texas, Brooks will bring plenty of top-tier recruits to Lexington under Pope.