Report: A top recruit plead with Mark Pope to Atleast …..

Pope observed McCoy during this past weekend’s Nike EYBL camp.

Mark Pope discussed roster building in his April press conference at his introduction. Similar to what John Calipari did, he will continue to bring in 5-star players and McDonald’s All-Americans in addition to players who will be between three and four years old and those who come through the gateway.

While it’s too late to make that happen for the current season, Pope and the Kentucky staff have been hard at work recruiting some of the top high school prospects in the 2025 and 2026 classes for next seasons.

Brandon McCoy, who is regarded as the top player in the 2026 class, is one of those guys.

During his introduction, Mark Pope talked about roster building during his April press conference. He will continue to bring in McDonald’s All-Americans and 5-star players in addition to players who will be between the ages of three and four and those who enter via the gateway, just like John Calipari did.

Pope and the Kentucky staff have been working hard to recruit some of the best high school prospects in the 2025 and 2026 classes for the upcoming seasons, even if it’s too late to make it happen for the current season.

One of those men is Brandon McCoy who is thought to be the best player in the 2026 class.

“I haven’t met Pope and haven’t spoken to him yet. However, I hope to! McCoy stated. “Definitely looking forward to seeing him and hopefully developing a friendship with him in the future. Since it’s a new staff, I don’t know a much about Kentucky, but I am aware that it was a very strong squad in the past. I’m excited to meet him and get a better sense of who he is.

That is probably going to change soon because both Pope and coach Jason Hart, who both have West Coast recruiting connections and have watched multiple games at recent AAU competitions from the sidelines, may be able to help pursue the California prospect.

Although McCoy would admit that he never attended his ideal university, receiving an offer from Kentucky was always his ambition.

“I just have a few offers written on my wall that I truly want to accept; I don’t even have a dream school.” Duke and Kentucky are their names. I wrote that offer on my wall in the hopes of receiving it. I hope to receive Mark Pope’s re-offer as well.

McCoy will keep putting in the effort to work hard, which is what made him the best player in his class, until that offer comes.