Since Mark Pope arrived in Lexington 10 days ago, the Big Blue Nation has remained focused on how he’s building the Kentucky roster from the transfer portal. We’ve taken our eye off the ball. The new Kentucky head coach has still found plenty of time to prioritize high school players in the 2025 recruiting class.

Many questioned Pope’s ability to recruit top prospects from the high school ranks. On the day he finalized his three-man recruiting staff, one of the ten best players in America announced that Kentucky is one of his top choices.

Will Riley tells On’3s Joe Tipton that he’s trimmed his options to five: Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, and the NBL. “Great program, great coaches and I can learn a lot,” Riley said.

The 6-foot-8 athlete is the second-ranked small forward and the No. 9 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class, according to On3. He’s from Kitchener, Ontario, and if that sounds familiar, it’s because you went to Rupp Arena during that 2016 Kentucky basketball season. He shares the same hometown as former Wildcat standout Jamal Murray. Team Canada will have a few former Wildcats in their starting lineup at the Paris Summer Olympics.

Riley has only taken one visit so far. He spent time at Arizona in March. Trips to Alabama and Kentucky are on the horizon.

There was some initial hesitation that Kentucky would take a step back in recruiting once John Calipari departed, and rightfully so. What he did on the trail in Lexington is unprecedented. Taking a step back doesn’t mean Kentucky is all the way out on recruiting future pros.

Jonathan Givony compiled a way-too-early mock draft for the 2025 class this spring. There you will find one Will Riley at No. 16 overall. Kentucky is still fishing in the right waters under Mark Pope.

More Kentucky News and Views on the KSR YouTube Channel

Kentucky Sports Radio has expanded its coverage of the Wildcats in the most ridiculous manner possible on our YouTube Channel. Here you will be able to find interviews with coaches and players, as well as commentary from the KSR crew. From Rapid Reactions following big events to our lengthy lineup of live shows, subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel to stay up to date on everything happening around the Big Blue Nation.

The transfer portal is off and running for both college football and basketball as teams look to fill out their rosters heading into the summer.

For the Kentucky Wildcats, they had an eventful spring season. Now, Mark Stoops and his staff are looking to fill some holes on the roster as they look to compete in the new-look SEC this coming season.

One of those spots of need has become the defensive back room. With some injuries and an overall young room, Chris Collins and Brad White are looking for some more bodies and overall talent to help fill some roles.

We now have a new name to keep an eye on.

On Wednesday evening, Pete Nakos of On3 reported that Michigan Wolverines defensive back DJ Waller Jr. will enter the transfer portal. Shortly after, Matt Jones of KSR reported that the Cats would be heavily involved with the young DB.

Waller, a 6-foot-3 and 205-pound safety out of Youngstown (OH), is a former 3-star recruit in the class of 2023 who chose the Wolverines over offers from Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Ball State, Marshall, and Toledo.

In his lone season in Ann Harbor, Waller totaled 11 tackles and a pass deflection.

Early in this portal window, a lot of attention has been paid to the offensive side of the ball, but this could be a solid pickup for the defense with a player from Vince Marrow’s backyard.

Let’s get those dice rolling.

Follow our Twitter and Facebook pages for more UK news and views. Go CATS!

Remember when people questioned if Mark Pope would be able to recruit at a place like Kentucky?

While he still needs to fill out the roster, Pope has been killing it when it comes to recruiting assistant coaches.

It began when Pope was able to reel in former G-League Ignite coach Jason Hart, who was a major player on the recruiting trail during his time with the USC Trojans. Hart also built significant connections with elite high school recruits like Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson, Matas Buzelis, and Ron Holland

But Pope wasn’t done there.

After the Kentucky Wildcats were turned down by Scott Drew to be the school’s next head coach, Pope was later hired, and he just plucked Drew’s top assistant coach away from the Bears in Alvin Brooks III.

During his time at Baylor, Brooks helped reel in four of the top 10 highest-rated commits in program history, including top-five recruit VJ Edgecombe in the class of 2024, who picked the Bears over Duke and Kentucky.

I’d say Pope just assembled one of the best staffs in America, and Twitter agrees.

Here are the best Twitter reactions to the big news!

‘Like’ our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for more Kentucky Wildcats news and views! And as always, Go Cats!!!!