Kentucky basketball is carrying momentum into a major recruiting event
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky basketball coaches will be recruiting at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in South Carolina.
- UK basketball already has a commitment from class of 2027 small forward Ryan Hampton.
- Mark Pope’s UK program has extended 19 scholarship offers to players in the 2027 class.
Mark Pope’s Kentucky basketball program is carrying serious momentum on the recruiting trail into a major prospect evaluation event this week.
On Sunday afternoon, Kentucky basketball earned its first commitment from the class of 2027 when small forward Ryan Hampton, a consensus top-10 player in that recruiting group, pledged to the Cats during a weekend recruiting visit to Lexington.
Now, Kentucky will look to continue the positive recruiting energy at this week’s NBPA Top 100 Camp in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The camp runs from Monday to Friday.
The NBPA Top 100 Camp has long been recognized as a top evaluation setting for college basketball prospects, and that remains the case this year.
Hampton is not scheduled to participate in the NBPA Top 100 camp, but 13 of the 19 class of 2027 players with Kentucky scholarship offers are: Reese Alston, Dawson Battie, Beckham Black, Cayden Daughtry, King Gibson, Demarcus Henry, Moussa Kamissoko, Chase Lumpkin, Paul Osaruyi, Caleb Ourigou, Jordan Page, CJ Rosser and Lewis Uvwo.
Some of these players have been longtime UK basketball targets. Rosser was one of the first class of 2027 recruits to pick up a Kentucky offer when Pope extended one his way in May 2025.
Other prospects, such as Daughtry, Gibson, Henry, Ourigou and Page, only recently picked up scholarship offers from Kentucky after UK coaches watched them play during the May evaluation period. Yann Kamagate is also taking part in the NBPA Top 100 Camp. Kamagate, who is among those who recently earned a UK offer, is the only player in the 2028 class with an offer from the Cats.
This year’s NBPA Top 100 Camp is taking place during a “quiet period” on the NCAA recruiting calendar, defined as “that period of time when it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the member institution’s campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made during the quiet period.”
But there’s an exception for Wednesday and Thursday, when evaluations are only permitted at the NBPA Top 100 Camp.
Friday through Sunday is also designated as an evaluation period for college coaches. Over the weekend, college coaches are allowed to evaluate prospects at approved NCAA, NFHS and applicable two-year college governing body scholastic events.
Last week, Kentucky spent time watching prospects play for USA Basketball at the FIBA Under-18 AmeriCup in Mexico. This group included Henry, who averaged 11.1 minutes per game at the event as the Americans claimed the silver medal.
After a difficult 2026 recruiting cycle that saw the Cats strike out with top targets and fail to land a top-100 recruit, things are off to a much better start for Pope and company with the 2027 class.
Hampton, whom 247Sports ranks as the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2027 recruiting class, is the highest-ranked high school player to ever commit to play for Pope in college.
Additionally, Pope’s transfer portal class at Kentucky this offseason is now ranked No. 2 in the nation following last week’s addition of former Iowa State star Milan Momcilovic.
Pope has inked a top-five ranked transfer portal class in each of his three offseasons as the Kentucky coach.
