Mark Pope, Kentucky coaches were busy recruiting this weekend -- who did they watch?
This weekend was an evaluation period in the college basketball recruiting world, meaning coaches could make appearances at the dozens of high-profile events going on across the country. We’ve already documented in detail how Kentucky head coach Mark Pope traveled to Shelbyville, KY on Friday to watch five-star PG Jasper Johnson and four-star C Malachi Moreno, among others, participate in the KABC Titans Shootout.
Johnson, in particular, is a major priority for Pope. The Lexington native immediately left for an official visit to Illinois after his game wrapped up on Friday and will travel to Alabama on Monday for an official with the Crimson Tide.
But Shelbyville wasn’t the only stop Pope and members of his coaching staff made over the weekend. Kentucky coaches were also spotted in Maryland, Indiana, and Arizona. Associate head coach Alvin Brooks even popped into the KABC Titans Shootout on Saturday and Sunday to get another look at Moreno. Unfortunately for Moreno, his Great Crossing squad came up just short in the championship game earlier today, falling 56-54 in overtime to St. Xavier.
Who else did the UK staff watch? Let’s dive in and find out.
5-star SF Nate Ament & 4-star SG Kaden Magwood
Ranked No. 14 overall in the 2025 class by the On3 Industry Ranking, Nate Ament had a trio of Kentucky staffers watching him play on Saturday. Suiting up for Highlands High School (VA), Ament went up against another Wildcat target, Louisville native Kaden Magwood (Combine Academy, NC), in front of Pope, assistant Jason Hart, and assistant Cody Fueger.
In the game prior, the same three coaches got a look at another pair of 2025 recruits: four-star center Eric Reibe and three-star combo guard Adrien Stevens of The Bullis School out of Baltimore, MD. According to the On3 Industry Ranking, Reibe is ranked No. 39 overall while Stevens checks in at No. 151. Going up against Bullis was Bishop O’Connell shooting guard Quincy Wadley, who is ranked No. 17 overall in the class of 2026.
With Ament, he was coming off an unreal performance the night before when he went for 41 points, 27 rebounds, and six blocks. He announced an offer from Fueger and the Wildcats on June 17 and is quickly becoming a top priority for the staff. As for Magwood, he’s been hearing more and more from the new staff and expects to visit Lexington sometime this summer.
4-star SG Braylon Mullins
Over in Indiana, KSR’s Brandon Ramsey has been holding down the fort at the Charlie Hughes Showcase. On Saturday morning, Pope made the trip across state lines to watch Braylon Mullins, who will unofficially visit UK this Monday, play for Greenfield-Central. Pope watched Mullins drop 34 points in a 60-58 win over Ben Davis. Indiana’s Mike Woodson and UConn’s Dan Hurley were also in attendance.
Mullins, who is considered a four-star prospect and the No. 32 recruit from the 2025 class by On3, has scheduled additional unofficial visits to Purdue and Ohio State for next week, along with official visits to Michigan, Indiana, and Tennessee that will take place in the fall.
Kentucky has yet to extend an offer but don’t be shocked if one comes during Monday’s trip to Lexington. Mullins has been viewed as one of the biggest stock risers over the last couple of months. He averaged 20.1 points per game for Indiana Elite (13 games played) on the Adidas 3SSB circuit and was the fourth-most efficient scorer in the entire league during the spring at 1.13 points per possession, according to Synergy.
5-star SF Tounde Yessoufou & 4-star SF Nikolas Khamenia
Coaches had until 6:00 p.m. EST on Sunday to continue in-person evaluations. Mark Pope traveled to Arizona where he made sure to sneak in a viewing of Top 30 recruits Tounde Yessoufou and Nikolas Khamenia before that time ran out.
Yessoufou is ranked No. 22 overall in the 2025 class by the On3 Industry Ranking and has talked highly of the Wildcats over the last month, even going so far so to call UK his “dream school” growing up. Ranked No. 28 overall, Khamenia had already been in contact with the new staff prior to this weekend. Neither have been officially offered just yet, but they are firmly on Pope’s radar.
Arizona head coach Tommy Llyod, who is heavily recruiting Yessoufou, was also courtside.
Class of 2026 in-state recruits
Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno aren’t the only in-state prospects being recruited by the new Kentucky staff. Also participating in the KABC Titans Shootout were class of 2026 recruits Tay Kinney and Jayden Johnson.
Kinney, a four-star point guard ranked No. 37 overall, plays for Newport while Johnson, a four-star shooting guard ranked No. 41 overall, suits up for Trinity. Kentucky is making a push for both — Alvin Brooks watched them perform on Saturday. New Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey was also courtside to watch them play on Friday and Saturday.
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