While John Calipari was in no way, shape, or form a perfect coach when it came to the X’s and O’s there was no denying how elite a recruiter he was in Lexington. There is a reason Kentucky has the most active players in the NBA of any college, and that thanks is owed to Calipari.

During the long tenure Calipari was in Lexington, fans got used to landing multiple five-star recruits every season, but early into the Mark Pope era, there have been some struggles. Coach Pope has whiffed on multiple big-time players so far during his time in Lexington in the high school ranks.

Coach Pope has knocked the transfer portal out of the ballpark, but concerns with his high school recruiting are fair. We are in the month of February, and the Wildcats don’t have a single member of the 2026 class. Coach Pope has already missed on multiple players in this class, and Big Blue Nation is worried.

I put a post out on social media this morning asking Kentucky fans to rank on a scale from 1-10 how concerned they are about the future outlook of Kentucky basketball recruiting. Over 60% of Kentucky fans responded that they are in full panic, ten out of ten, concerned about recruiting.

Others said they aren’t all that panicked, listing their reason being the transfer portal has made it where a star freshman isn’t necessary.

At the end of the day Coach Pope is going to have to start landing some elite players in high school recruiting. It seems most fans have written this year off but Coach Pope recently said that he believes this is going to be a good recruiting class. He does seem confident so hopefully this staff will be able to pull off a miracle and land Tyran Stokes. This would change opinions on Pope in a matter of seconds.

Let’s take a look at what Big Blue Nation had to say about the state of Kentucky basketball recruiting.

Kentucky fans share thoughts on Mark Pope and his high school recruiting

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) -A new bill in the Kentucky legislature would fundamentally change how school boards are structured across the state, tying the number of board members directly to student enrollment numbers.

Senate Bill 202, proposed by Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, (R) of Smithfield would require the Kentucky Board of Education to determine the necessary number of members for each school board based on average daily enrollment over the previous three years. The changes would take effect beginning in 2033.

Board sizes would vary by enrollment

Under the proposed legislation, districts would have different numbers of board members based on their size:

• Districts with 15,000 students or fewer would have five board members
• Districts with 15,001 to 30,000 students would have seven members
• Districts with 30,001 to 45,000 students would have nine members
• Districts with 45,001 to 60,000 students would have 11 members
• Districts with 60,001 to 75,000 students would have 13 members
• Districts with more than 75,001 students would have 15 members

The Kentucky Board of Education would make these determinations in the first four months of 2033 and every 10 years thereafter.

According to the Ky. Department of Education, Fayette County Public Schools had 40,792 students in the 2024-25 school year, so under this bill, the Fayette County Board of Education would increase from five to nine members.

Implementation timeline and process

The bill includes provisions for how the changes would be implemented. If a regular election occurs in the same year the determination is made, additional members would be selected during that election. If no regular election occurs, the additional positions would be considered vacancies and filled at the next regularly scheduled election.

For districts that need to reduce their board size, the reduction would happen by decreasing the number of members up for election at the next scheduled election.

Division requirements remain

County school districts would still need to divide into divisions for election purposes, with members elected from specific geographic areas. Independent school districts would continue electing members at-large.

The legislation requires county school boards to redraw their divisions within 30 days of receiving notice from the state board. The divisions must contain integral voting precincts and be as equal in population as practicable.

Immediate implementation provision

While the regular timeline calls for changes beginning in 2033, the bill includes a provision requiring the Kentucky Board of Education to make initial determinations by December 31, 2026. Districts required to add members would need to make division changes within 30 days, with new positions filled as appointed vacancies until the next regular election.

The bill also removes specific references to Jefferson County’s seven-member board structure that was established after the merger of Louisville city and county school systems.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The No. 18 Kentucky Women’s Basketball team played one of its most complete games, swiftly handling No. 14 Ole Miss 74-57 in the cats penultimate home game of the 2025-26 regular season.

Clara Strack led the way, scoring 28 points and grabbing nine rebound. Asia Boone had 15 points. six rebounds and three assists. Tonie Morgan had 14 points and nine assists.

Kentucky shot 51% from the field while holding Ole Miss to 27% and 20% from behind the arc. The Wildcats also scored 22 points off of turnovers and used a 19-0 run in the second quarter to take full command of the game.

Ole Miss scored first, but Kentucky tied the game on two Strack free throws. Strack scored again to give UK its first lead, 4-2, but Ole Miss responded to tie the game. A Morgan layup and a Strack jumper gave the Cats a four-point lead, but Ole Miss hit a three to get within one.

Strack scored underneath and Jordan Obi scored in the lane to give UK a 12-7 lead. After two Ole Miss free throws, Morgan scored to again give the Cats a five-point lead. Ole Miss cut it to three but Boone hit a three late and Kentucky led 17-11 after one quarter.

The Rebels scored first in the second quarter but Amelia Hassett hit a three to give the Cats a 20-13 advantage. After two Ole Miss free throws, Boone hit a three from the corner and was fouled in the process. The four-point play gave Kentucky a 24-15 lead.

Obi scored on a pass from Morgan to extend the lead to 11 and force an Ole Miss timeout. Strack would score twice, and UK got threes from Boone, Hassett and Boone to complete a 19-0 run that gave Kentucky a 39-15 lead. The Rebels scored the last five points of the half, but the Cats held a commanding 39-20 lead at the break. Boone led all scorers with 13 in the first 20 minutes.

Ole Miss scored the first five points of the third quarter before Strack got the Cats on the board. The Rebels scored the next four before Strack hit two free throws to give UK a 43-29 lead. Ole Miss hit two free throws before Strack made two more to extend the lead to 45-31. Ole Miss made a free throw to cut the UK lead to 13.

Boone scored on a mid-range jumper, but the Rebels responded with a bucket on the other end. Morgan scored and Hassett hit a three to extend the UK lead to 52-34. The Rebels scored the next six before a Morgan three-point play stretched the UK lead to 55-40. Ole Miss scored just before the buzzer but Kentucky led 55-42 after three quarters.

Teonni Key made her first basket early in the fourth quarter but Ole Miss answered by scoring the next nine to cut the UK lead to 57-51 with 6:45 to play. Strack scored to stop the run, then scored six more in a row to give Kentucky a 65-51 lead. A Morgan basket extended the lead to 16 and completed a 10-0 run.

UK would lead by 19 late in the fourth quarter before settling for the 17-point victory.

Kentucky gets the midweek off and returns to action on Sunday, visiting Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.

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