While Kentucky and Mark Pope look to keep cleaning things up on the hardwood after a bit of a sluggish start, the Wildcats haven't lost focus on the main 2026 piece still out there. We're of course talking about 5-star playmaker Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 small forward in the country.
Mark Pope sprinted out of his press conference for the best reason possible
Stokes is yet to shut down his recruitment and multiple teams are still doing everything possible to land his commitment. The list includes Kentucky, which sent assistant coach Jason Hart to Seattle for Stokes' Senior Night game for Rainier Beach. Of note, Kansas and Bill Self also had a staff member on hand:
Kentucky AC Jason Hart made the trip out to Seattle to attend #1 SR Tyran Stokes’ Senior Night.
— Dylan (@BigBlueDylan) February 4, 2026
Tyran dropped a school record 63 Points. 107-38 W.
Coming off a visit to Kansas, with a ton of smoke, Kentucky isn’t backing down for the #1 Player in 2026.#BBN #KentuckyBasketball pic.twitter.com/zxCrebwdF8
Kentucky and Mark Pope still hoping to land 5-star SF Tyran Stokes
Stokes is still mulling over his final decision, but he's got a final three of Kentucky, Kansas and Oregon. From our chair, something tells us this is going to come down to either the Jayhawks or Wildcats, with Self and Pope putting a full-court press on the elite forward.
The youngster is widely considered to be a lock as a superstar at the next level. Stokes is ranked five stars, the No. 1 small forward in the country and No. 1 player overall by the 247Sports Composite. Throughout his recruitment, he picked up a total of 25 offers.
However, he's indeed down to just three programs. Kentucky has been putting in serious work in landing big-name targets in recent years and fans are hoping more of the same will be on the way to close out the 2026 class. Getting Stokes to Lexington would be program-changing for Pope.
As things stand, the Wildcats don't have a single recruit locked in for the '26 haul. Stokes can change that in a massive way if he gives Pope, Hart and the rest of the UK staff the news they're all hoping for. Kansas and Oregon are working to prevent that from happening, but you've got to feel like Kentucky is in a pretty good spot here. We'll see if Stokes ends up being SEC-bound or not.