A major recruiting date has arrived for Mark Pope and Kentucky basketball
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK basketball coaches can now directly contact prospects from the 2028 recruiting class.
- So far, Kentucky has only offered a scholarship to one player from the 2028 class.
- That player is Yann Kamagate, a 7-foot center from California.
It’s been a productive few weeks for Mark Pope and the Kentucky men’s basketball program on the recruiting trail.
To close May, the Wildcats landed a commitment from prized transfer portal star Milan Momcilovic, whose acquisition has given Kentucky a needed injection of scoring, shooting and star power for the 2026-27 season.
Earlier this month, Pope secured his first commitment from a class of 2027 recruit when five-star small forward Ryan Hampton pledged to Kentucky. Hampton, whom 247Sports ranks as the No. 6 overall prospect in next year’s recruiting class, is the highest-ranked high school prospect to ever commit to Pope in college.
Things are currently on the upswing for UK basketball when it comes to recruiting, and another milestone date has arrived for the Cats.
Monday is the first day college basketball coaches can directly contact players from the 2028 recruiting class. While lines of communication have been open between programs and players, that hasn’t included direct communication between coaches and members of the rising high school junior class. Until now.
This direct communication period for 2028 recruits begins after college coaches were able to watch many of the top 2028 prospects in action. Coaches evaluated prospects last week at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in South Carolina and over the weekend at approved NCAA, NFHS and applicable two-year college governing body scholastic events.
You can expect a flurry of activity as Pope and members of his coaching staff reach out to players from the 2028 recruiting group whom they’ve identified as potential fits in Lexington.
This is likely to result in a batch of new scholarship offers being extended by Kentucky to top 2028 prospects.
Yann Kamagate is the only 2028 recruit with a UK offer
Entering Monday, the Cats have only extended one scholarship offer to a rising high school junior: Yann Kamagate, a 7-foot center who is originally from Burkina Faso in West Africa. 247Sports ranks Kamagate as a five-star prospect and the No. 4 overall recruit in the 2028 class.
Last week at the NBPA Top 100 Camp, Kamagate told the Herald-Leader he’s not worried about the expected onrush of communication from college coaches with the direct contact period now open.
“I’m not worried about this. I’m not worried about it. I’m just going to chill,” Kamagate said. “Because I already have a lot of offers. I’m just going to keep working on my game. I’m not worried about the college coaches. I know they’re going to come, but I’m just going to keep working on my game.”
Kamagate, who plays prep basketball near Los Angeles, missed his sophomore season due to surgery, but he gained national attention this spring with strong showings while playing up an age level on the Adidas circuit during the May evaluation period.
Kamagate — who is averaging 13.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game for the Compton Magic on the Adidas circuit — reported a scholarship offer from Kentucky on May 18. UK assistant coach Mikhail McLean watched Kamagate play in May prior to Kentucky extending a scholarship offer.
This past week, five different Kentucky coaches — Pope, McLean, Cody Fueger, Nick Robinson and Mo Williams — got eyes on Kamagate while they scouted the NBPA Top 100 Camp.
247Sports has reported that Kamagate’s guardian is Luc Mbah a Moute, who played on three Final Four teams at UCLA and logged nearly 700 games in the NBA. Mbah a Moute is now a basketball player agent who focuses on players from Africa.
