Mark Pope has yet to land a commit in the 2026 class, and though he doesn’t live-and-die by five-star freshmen as his predecessor in Lexington did, Big Blue Nation is growing a bit weary over the current state of Pope’s recruiting. That concern could get ramped up quite a few notches on Friday when five-star guard Jordan Smith announces his commitment.
Kentucky is a finalist for Smith, along with Duke, Syracuse, Indiana, and Georgetown, but the widely-held expectation is that the 6-foot-2 product of Fairfax, Virginia, and the No. 3 recruit in the country is heading to Arkansas to join John Calipari.
NEWS: 5⭐️ Jordan Smith Jr. will announce his college commitment on Friday, February 13th, he tells @Rivals.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) February 11, 2026
The 6-2 guard will choose between Duke, Kentucky, Arkansas, Syracuse, Indiana, and Georgetown. https://t.co/omYFS6eZ9u pic.twitter.com/SqAencHSqs
2026 5-star guard Jordan Smith sets commitment for Friday
While Calipari continued to pump first-round picks into the NBA throughout the waning years of his tenure at Kentucky, BBN grew very tired of his teams flaming out in the NCAA Tournament. Yet, even after restarting in Fayetteville, Coach Cal has kept the same philosophy, and it’s led him to plenty of success.
Last year, the Razorbacks made the Sweet 16, something Cal hadn’t done with Kentucky since 2019. This season, Arkansas is the No. 21 team in the country and tied with Kentucky in second place in the SEC with an 8-3 conference record behind freshmen Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas.
Now, it appears he’s on the verge of landing Smith, another surefire one-and-done prospect with an NBA future. Smith would be the second five-star for Calipari in the 2026 class, joining 6-foot-6 wing JJ Andrews from Little Rock, Arkansas, who has already signed his letter of intent.
Kentucky was once viewed as a top contender for Smith, as it was for another five-star, Caleb Holt, but it appears as though the Wildcats have fallen too far behind in both recruiting races. Alabama is the favorite for Holt, while Arizona is making a late surge.
Six of the top 10 players in the 2026 class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, have yet to commit, including Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 overall player and a Kentucky native. However, like Holt and Smith, Kentucky was once viewed as a likely landing spot for Stokes, but has faded. Kansas is now the favorite for Stokes.
Pope prefers to build through the Transfer Portal with a veteran-landed roster, and that has served him well this season as Kentucky has shown impressive depth to withstand injuries to Jayden Quaintance, Jaland Lowe, and Kam Williams. However, it will still sting BBN if Pope strikes out completely in the 2026 high school class.