Mark Pope is not only working tirelessly to get his current team ready for March Madness, but he’s also spending time and energy recruiting the next cast of stars to play for the Kentucky Wildcats.

In a short period of time, Pope has already proven that he can evaluate talent in the transfer portal while also closing the deal with top high school prospects.

So far, Kentucky’s 2025 recruiting class is off to a strong start, headlined by in-state superstar Jasper Johnson. Johnson is ranked as the 14th overall prospect in the class by On3, while his fellow commits — Malachi Moreno and Acaden Lewis — check in at 31 and 33, respectively.

Obviously, Pope isn’t done putting together his 2025 class, especially considering all the upperclassmen the program will lose after the season ends. A big piece to the puzzle could be the decision of 5-star prospect Nate Ament, a product of Warrenton, VA.

The 6-foot-9 power-forward is versatile and oozing with potential.

On3 ranks Ament as the fourth-best player in the entire class, making him one of the top remaining options left for coaches to sign.

Recently, Ament spoke with Jamie Shaw from On3 and provided an update on his recruitment.

Here is what he had to say about Kentucky:

“Coach (Mark) Pope has them playing fast, putting up a lot of points, and shooting a lot of threes.” Avent told Shaw.

He was then asked if Caleb Wilson going to Kentucky could potentially impact his decision.

“Not with Caleb, at all. That guy is a winner. He’s won at every level he’s been at. I feel like with me playing with someone like Caleb Wilson, would benefit us both, growing together as freshmen.”

Ament also confirmed that he’s still looking at late February to early March as far as a commitment timeframe. The Duke Blue Devils have been viewed as the favorites for quite some time, but Pope has Kentucky making a push as we head down the stretch of this recruitment.

Despite the recent slip-up, it’s been a pleasure watching Pope implement his offensive system with a roster made up of 100% transplants. It’s exciting to think about what he can do after a few years of assembling his own team with all of the resources he has at the University of Kentucky.

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