BB: 2027 Basketball Recruiting Tracker

[Anon668007]

 

[Resignmarkpope]

SIGNED

Ryan Hampton (SG Rivals #22, 4*)

RECRUITING

CJ Rosser - (Final 7) (PF Rivals #2, 5*)
Demarcus Henry - (October 30, TBD) (SF Rivals #3, 5*)
Cherif Millogo - (C Rivals #29, 4*)
Beckham Black - (PG Rivals #1, 5*)
Adan Diggs - (Final 4) (SG Rivals #5, 5*)
AJ Williams - (Final 10) (SF Rivals #4, 5*)
Paul Osaruyi - (C Rivals #21, 4*)
Benji Burrouet (2028) - Reclass option (PF Rivals 2028 #3, 5*)
Cayden Daughtry (2027) (PG #6, 5*)

NO

Lewis Uvwo - (October 28, 3:30 pm ET) (C Rivals #7, 5*) PROVIDENCE
Reese Alston - (October 29, 3:00 pm CT) (Final Five) (PG Rivals #9, 5*) LSU

 

[Catastic5]

So much for that.

 

[ScWildcat3]

So much for that.

Can’t believe anyone believes anything Jack or ksr says anymore. They have never been right about anything it seems. And big blue felon either.

 

[JAC71]

This! CMP is getting the best players for us! Who cares about star ratings!

So that we can finish sixth or lower in the SEC standings? That is not good at all

 

[bnewt]

What does this mean?

 

[Anon668007]

What does this mean?

It’s just excuses. That’s all Pope has currently when it comes to HS recruiting

 

[bnewt]

If you like ky basketball so much why do put a coach ahead of the program when his recruiting is the worst of all time.Ive been a fan since 1969 and I put the university of ky basketball above any coach or player especially when they are damaging our program and reputation.Pope is being used to bolster recruits payday at other schools I guess you support that too according to your logic.You need to seriously examine your fandom and get your priorities straight.

Pope is good agent for all these guys to go elsewhere, gets them pay hikes before playing a game

 

[bnewt]

Will pope screw this up?

 

[Anon668007]

Will pope screw this up?

Already happening

 

[Catastic5]

Will pope screw this up?

You should never count BYU out when Mark Pope is recruiting.

 

[MarkPope9]

So that we can finish sixth or lower in the SEC standings? That is not good at all

A 3rd yr coach finishing in the top of the SEC sounds like a success to me!

 

[Anon668007]

Kentucky already has one committed high school player from the 2027 class (Ryan Hampton), and he is expected to sign.40


As of late October 2026, Mark Pope’s Kentucky program has a firm verbal commitment from 2027 wing Ryan Hampton (a consensus high-level prospect, ranked around the top 10–20 nationally depending on the service; often listed as a five-star or high four-star). He committed in June 2026 after an official visit and has remained locked in. Recent activity reinforces this: he visited for Big Blue Madness, returned to Lexington with family in early/mid-October to host a free youth basketball camp for fans, and publicly praised Big Blue Nation and the program.42


Kentucky has pursued (and missed on) several other top 2027 high school targets recently, including Lewis Uvwo (Providence), Reese Alston (LSU), and Demarcus Henry (North Carolina on October 30). The staff is still active on others such as Beckham Black, CJ Rosser, Cayden Daughtry, Adan Diggs, and especially rising big man Cherif Millogo (a 7-5 center who visited Lexington, with at least one national analyst predicting Kentucky). There is also interest in possible 2028-to-2027 reclassifiers like Benjamin Berrouet.4


Reporting indicates Kentucky is being selective amid high NIL demands for top high school talent (some reported in the multimillion-dollar range), prioritizing roster retention, the transfer portal, and “right player, right situation, right price” fits rather than large bidding wars. The class may end up relatively small (Hampton plus potentially 2–3 more), but Hampton alone means they will sign at least one high school player from the 2027 class when the formal National Letter of Intent/early signing period arrives (typically mid-November for basketball).70


In short, at this point the answer is clearly yes due to Hampton; additional signees remain possible but are not required for them to have a high school player from the class.

 

[ThreeDogNight2]

Kentucky already has one committed high school player from the 2027 class (Ryan Hampton), and he is expected to sign.40


As of late October 2026, Mark Pope’s Kentucky program has a firm verbal commitment from 2027 wing Ryan Hampton (a consensus high-level prospect, ranked around the top 10–20 nationally depending on the service; often listed as a five-star or high four-star). He committed in June 2026 after an official visit and has remained locked in. Recent activity reinforces this: he visited for Big Blue Madness, returned to Lexington with family in early/mid-October to host a free youth basketball camp for fans, and publicly praised Big Blue Nation and the program.42


Kentucky has pursued (and missed on) several other top 2027 high school targets recently, including Lewis Uvwo (Providence), Reese Alston (LSU), and Demarcus Henry (North Carolina on October 30). The staff is still active on others such as Beckham Black, CJ Rosser, Cayden Daughtry, Adan Diggs, and especially rising big man Cherif Millogo (a 7-5 center who visited Lexington, with at least one national analyst predicting Kentucky). There is also interest in possible 2028-to-2027 reclassifiers like Benjamin Berrouet.4


Reporting indicates Kentucky is being selective amid high NIL demands for top high school talent (some reported in the multimillion-dollar range), prioritizing roster retention, the transfer portal, and “right player, right situation, right price” fits rather than large bidding wars. The class may end up relatively small (Hampton plus potentially 2–3 more), but Hampton alone means they will sign at least one high school player from the 2027 class when the formal National Letter of Intent/early signing period arrives (typically mid-November for basketball).70


In short, at this point the answer is clearly yes due to Hampton; additional signees remain possible but are not required for them to have a high school player from the class.

People may troll but if pope is truly not getting people because he is worried about roster retention is awesome, I’d rather have a 3rd year Wilkins and 4th year Zoom than 2 freshman PG’s

 

[bnewt]

People may troll but if pope is truly not getting people because he is worried about roster retention is awesome, I’d rather have a 3rd year Wilkins and 4th year Zoom than 2 freshman PG’s

Zoom is horrible and wilkins must improve greatly and become consistent
Think Stokes is a thug type, but he is tremendously better than either
Why worry about retaining mid to low level talent instead of replacing with high level

 

[ThreeDogNight2]

Zoom is horrible and wilkins must improve greatly and become consistent
Think Stokes is a thug type, but he is tremendously better than either
Why worry about retaining mid to low level talent instead of replacing with high level

“Why worry about retaining mid to low level talent instead of replacing with high level”

Familiarity with offense,leadership,and proving you can improve talent.

if you think everyone on Michigan team was top tier talent than I disagree.

 

[jrpross_rivals]

People who don’t really understand how to build a basketball team these days are only concerned about 5 star players in high school and throwing constant jabs at Mark Pope. It’s pretty obvious that that model doesn’t work anymore. Duke has had about 75 five star players in the last 10 years and they are going on 12 years since they won anything. It’s pretty obvious that in today’s landscape, you try to get the right mix of players that work in your system.

I’d say in order:
1–transfer portal
2–returnees
3– high school players

I don’t know how to build a title contending basketball team. I don’t claim to know. What I do know is that 26 losses and 2 first weekend exits in 2 years doesn’t cut it.

And to me it seems that the vast majority of prime targets, whether from high school or the portal, are going elsewhere. It just doesn’t seem like Pope has the connection with potential players to build the kind of team he wants.

I’m curious to see how MM is able to lead this team but I don’t think the support around him is going to add up to a contender. If we have another 12-14 loss season, I think it’s time to tell him, “thanks for all you’ve done but I think we need to go a different direction.”

 

[AllBall]

It’s just excuses. That’s all Pope has currently when it comes to HS recruiting

Exactly. None of the coaches landing guys mention price. Pope has to pay more bc he's been leveraged. Everyone within recruiting knows it and UK is used as a bargaining tool.

 

[Anon668007]

 

[ScWildcat3]

Exactly. None of the coaches landing guys mention price. Pope has to pay more bc he's been leveraged. Everyone within recruiting knows it and UK is used as a bargaining tool.

UNc outpayed everyone for Henry. It was mentioned a ton. Even coach cal mentioned it.

 

[ScWildcat3]

That’s been a done deal for a long time.