Just hours after reportedly being in contact with a four-star guard in the transfer portal, the Kentucky Wildcats and head coach Mark Pope are no longer interested.
Four-star guard Desmond Claude, who spent two years at Xavier before transferring to USC ahead of last season, entered the transfer portal earlier this spring. After reportedly hearing from blue-blood programs like Kentucky, Duke, Gonzaga, and more, Claude is struggling to find a program that actually wants to recruit him.
Over the last 24 hours, programs have backed away from the four-star transfer, including Pope and the Wildcats.
Kentucky isn’t expected to be involved in the recruitment of USC transfer Desmond Claude, sources tell @On3sports.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) May 5, 2025
As Polacheck writes here, I don’t expect anything materialize between Claude and UK. https://t.co/YSjyCk8D91
Last season, Claude averaged 15.8 points, 4.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.6 steals per game, making him a statistically desirable player in the portal. However, none of these top-tier programs seems to want to bring him onto their roster.
Why is nobody recruiting Desmond Claude?
There has been no clear answer as to why these elite programs are quickly backing away from Claude. However, despite garnering initial interest, including from defending the national champions, the Florida Gators, nobody has expressed continued interest in the guard.
A lot of people are venturing guesses that the position and skillset Claude brings to the table simply aren't needed by a lot of programs at this point, most of which filled the needed roles earlier in the offseason with players who quickly entered the transfer portal.
Despite being the No. 9 point guard in the portal, according to 247Sports, even recruiting analysts are having a hard time nailing down where Claude will end up ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Who has Mark Pope recruited from the transfer portal?
Currently, Pope and the Wildcats have the No. 2 transfer portal class in the nation, only trailing the Texas Longhorns. So far, Pope has recruited six players to join the Kentucky roster, while only losing two former players to the portal.
Players transferring into Kentucky
- Jayden Quaintance, five-star power forward from Arizona State
- Mouhamed Dioubate, four-star small forward from Alabama
- Jaland Lowe, four-star point guard from Pitt
- Denzel Aberdeen, four-star combo guard from Florida
- Kam Williams, four-star small forward from Tulane
- Reece Potter, center from Miami-OH
Players transferring out of Kentucky
- Travis Perry, four-star point guard, committed to Ole Miss
- Kerr Kriisa, four-star point guard, committed to Cincinnati
Travis Perry averaged just 9.8 minutes per game for the Wildcats last season. However, Kerr Kriisa did contribute a significant 17.3 minutes but only averaged 4.4 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game.