Mark Pope and his staff are starting to fill up their big board for the class of 2025 as the season quickly approaches.

With Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson already on board, the Cats are heading into the fall signing period with a class that On3 has ranked No. 1 overall, and it should add more firepower in the coming months.

Now, another player the Cats staff is high on has announced a new list.

According to Joe Tipton of On3, 5-star forward Tounde Yessoufou has cut his list to six, and Kentucky made the cut. Arizona State, Baylor, Kansas, UConn, and USC also made the list.

Tennessee, once viewed as a serious threat, did not make the cut, so that’s good news for the Cats.

Yessoufou will officially visit Lexington on October 11-12th for Big Blue Madness. He is coming off visits to USC and Baylor. He will see Arizona State this week while also visiting UConn (September 21-22) and Kansas (October 4-5).

When talking about Kentucky with Tipton, here is what Yessoufou had to say about Coach Pope and the program:

“My relationship has been really good with Kentucky. Mark Pope, every time he comes to my practice, he is a funny guy,” he said. “He tells me to keep going and to play hard. His energy is unique, he is the type of coach that can push you hard to develop yourself both on and off the court. His message to me is that he wants me to play for him because I am a great person and how hard I play. He says he enjoys watching me play every time. He always gives me advice to stay mentally strong out there, even if things don’t go my way, to stick to the plan and move on to the next play. It really matters to me that a coach can tell me what I need to hear, the truth.”

Things seem to be trending in the right direction for the Cats in this one, but Baylor has been picking up steam since his recent visit to Waco.

This would be another huge recruiting win for this staff. Let’s see if they can pull it off in the coming months.

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