Mark Pope is entering Year 3 in Lexington on thin ice with much of Big Blue Nation, and losing Robert Wright III to BYU after his visit to Kentucky appeared to be another crack. Then, Pope patched it up, landing a commitment from Washington transfer guard Zoom Diallo, Stokes’s former Prolific Prep teammate, and now it appears that his plan may be falling into place.
Wright took his visit to Lexington this week at the same time as Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 player in the 2026 high school class, who is still deciding between Kentucky and Kansas for his one-and-done season. With simultaneous visits, missing out on Wright was a single to some that Kentucky was about to miss out on Stokes, but the five-star small forward’s reaction to Diallo’s commitment would say otherwise.
Stokes commented, “My brudda on Diallo’s Instagram post announcing his Kentucky commitment. It’s not a major thing, but in recruiting, you have to read every tea leaf, and this appears to be one.
Tyran Stokes commented on former high school teammate Zoom Diallo’s Kentucky commitment
Stokes didn’t finish his high school career at Prolific Prep, but he and Diallo played together in the 2023-24 season, Diallo’s final year in high school before leaving for Washington. Then, Stokes also made his way to Seattle, playing his final high school season at Rainier Beach after a one-year stint at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California.
While Wright, who began his career at Baylor and reportedly landed a $3 million deal to transfer to BYU last offseason, is the bigger name, Diallo has comparable numbers and likely comes to Lexington at a slightly more economical price. Add in his previous connection with Stokes, and you can start to understand why Kentucky was alright missing out on Wright in favor of adding the Washington transfer point guard.
For much of his recruitment, Kansas has been the leader for Stokes, but a myriad of factors, including a NIL shoe deal with Nike, have allowed Kentucky to make up ground in the race. Now, Stokes is presumably waiting to see both rosters before making his final commitment.
Landing Diallo not only gives Kentucky the flexibility to have a better shot at adding Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman, Colorado transfer Sebastian Rancik, and even Furman transfer guard Alex Wilkins, which would help make a strong pitch to Stokes, but it also adds another connection to the nation’s top recruit.
Last offseason, Pope and his staff spent big, throwing $22 million at a roster that had injury question marks, spacing concerns, and that, even if it was ever healthy, never made much sense. This time around, he seems to be taking a more measured and tactical approach, and if it helps him earn a commitment from Stokes, it will simultaneously put to rest questions about his recruiting chops.
There’s a lot riding on this portal window and the Stokes commitment, so while you can’t glean too much from a social media comment, it’s hard not to take a bit of meaning from it.
Add us as a preferred source on Google