Travis Perry locks in commitment to Mark Pope and Kentucky

Any doubts about Travis Perry making it to Lexington to play for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats? The four-star signee ended them today.

Perry said he wanted to meet with Kentucky’s new head coach to “see where things go from there” regarding his status with the program. Pope singled him out during his introductory press conference, having the state’s all-time leading scorer stand for an ovation in front of the sold-out Rupp Arena crowd.

“There is a good chance he will not jump into the portal,” Pope joked in the moment.

At the conclusion of the event, Perry admitted he was still signed “as of right now” and didn’t “want to put a timeline on it” regarding a final decision one way or another.

“It’s obviously a busy time for him, don’t want to rush him or anything like that,” he said. “Just take it as it goes, get to have the conversations with him that are important, get to sit down with him, see what the plan is, see what he’s thinking and then we’ll decide what we’re thinking.”

Then the meeting with Pope came — and it clearly went well, Perry officially locking in his commitment to Kentucky for good.

“(100%) a Wildcat,” he announced. “Can’t wait to wear the blue and white. Go Cats!”

💯 a Wildcat. Can’t wait to wear the blue and white. Go Cats! @CoachMarkPope @KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/CDKLg434C3

— Travis Perry (@Travis_Perry11) April 23, 2024

Perry said he heard from Pope shortly after his hiring became official, the new head coach making it clear the Lyon County star was a top priority for his debut roster in Lexington.

“Initially just showing how excited he was about the job,” Perry said of his initial conversation. “Wanted to call me pretty early and then he just told me get the shoulder ready, be ready to play a fun brand of basketball, shoot a lot of threes, and win a lot of games.”

Pope clearly put any uncertainty to rest on Perry’s end Monday, and in return, the four-star guard locked in his commitment for good.