Mark Pope lands another major recruit for UK basketball. Jasper Johnson picks Kentucky.

Mark Pope has landed another major recruit at Kentucky. And it’s a name plenty of UK fans in the commonwealth already know.

On Thursday afternoon, five-star class of 2025 guard Jasper Johnson committed to Pope and the Wildcats.

Ranked as the No. 10 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class by the 247Sports Composite, the 6-foot-4 Johnson is Pope’s second commitment in the 2025 class since being named Kentucky’s head coach in April.

In August, UK also landed four-star class of 2025 center Malachi Moreno from Great Crossing High School in Georgetown.

Johnson picked UK from a final shortlist of schools that also included Alabama, Arkansas, Louisville and North Carolina, although Alabama, UK and UNC were viewed as the realistic options for him.

A former standout player at Woodford County High School who helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the semifinals of the Sweet 16 state tournament in 2023, Johnson played his junior high school season at Link Academy, a prep school in Missouri.

Johnson will play his senior season at the Atlanta-based Overtime Elite (OTE) program. OTE was the final pre-college stop for ex-Cat Rob Dillingham, as well as former UK commits Somto Cyril and Karter Knox.

Johnson committed to Kentucky during an event at Woodford County’s basketball gym in Versailles.

“Perhaps the most intriguing way that Johnson has developed is his role flexibility,” Zach Welch, an analyst for Pro Insight Basketball, told the Herald-Leader. “He has had some contexts in which he is largely an off-ball shooter, others in which he gets to tap into his creation abilities a bit more and furthermore has had some in which he is the primary offensive engine. His willingness to embrace a variety of roles and learn how to provide value in different contexts is invaluable.”

Johnson — whose father is Dennis Johnson, the former Harrodsburg, UK and NFL football player who currently serves as the head football coach and athletics director at Woodford County — has been a longtime recruiting target for the Wildcats.

This process began under former head coach John Calipari, who extended Johnson a scholarship offer in May 2023 following Johnson’s breakout sophomore season at Woodford County.

Under Calipari, Kentucky’s recruitment of Johnson included Calipari and members of the 2023-24 UK basketball team watching Johnson explode for 37 points in January in a game played at Woodford County’s gym in Versailles. Johnson officially visited UK in February.

UK’s pursuit of Johnson continued after Pope took over as UK’s coach.

In recent months, Pope and other UK coaches traveled to watch Johnson play in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) in Indiana and South Carolina, at the USA Basketball Men’s Under-18 National Team training camp in Colorado and at the FIBA Men’s Under-18 AmeriCup in Argentina.

“Coach Pope, (he) had a short period of time (to recruit me) with the coaching switches, but I feel like he made a big commitment, took a lot of time and spoke a lot with me,” Johnson said during his commitment event, which was also live streamed on the 247Sports YouTube channel. “I feel like the trust was there between me and him and the coaching staff.”

The offseason coaching change from Calipari to Pope affected Johnson’s recruitment, for a while.

Throughout the spring and summer, Johnson was viewed as a strong Alabama lean. This came despite Johnson’s recruitment featuring a large amount of “polar opposite information,” according to David Sisk, a Rivals basketball analyst who covers Kentucky and North Carolina.

“You heard all these different things, I mean, just as opposite as it could be, and a lot of different information out there,” Sisk told the Herald-Leader.

This differing information extended to everything from perception of specific coaches to interest in a monetary name, image and likeness (NIL) package.

Ultimately, Sisk said Kentucky’s NIL offer to Johnson was “probably a big issue” in his decision to go from an Alabama lean to a Kentucky commit. He also spoke to the importance that comes with Kentucky ponying up to offer a significant NIL package to a player of Johnson’s caliber.

“It shows now that Kentucky, the coach, the administration, the boosters … they’re arm and arm, they’re in lock step here to do what it takes to recruit,” Sisk said.

Jasper Johnson’s shooting ability makes him a good fit for UK, Pope

After playing in front of Pope and the new Kentucky coaching staff at an EYBL event in May, Johnson spoke about his early impressions of Pope with the Wildcats.

“I know he was in my shoes one time,” Johnson said, referencing the fact that Pope played at Kentucky and won a national championship with the Wildcats in 1996. “He played there, so knowing he understands the game and that he believes in his players as well. I know he’ll have a big difference being in the SEC. ... But I feel like (UK will) have a good season this season.”

“He’s been there, really hearing his message and putting it into my game and stuff like that,” Johnson added. “It’s always a good thing having a coach that played the game.”

On Thursday, Johnson said he was quickly able to build a relationship with Pope.

“He took a lot of time (to recruit me), and one thing you can’t give back is time,” Johnson said. “I know he had a short period of it, but I feel like he made me a priority with as much time as he was given. Coming to see me, calling me, texting me, not just him but the whole coaching staff. It really built that relationship really quick. I’m ready to be able to play for them.”

Common thought is that Pope’s distinct offensive style — a five-out, well-spaced attack that puts a premium on shooting 3-pointers — should mesh well with Johnson’s skills.

The left-handed Johnson has deep shooting range, although his consistency in this regard has been a question mark while playing for Team Thad on the EYBL grassroots circuit.

On the EYBL circuit this past spring and summer, Johnson averaged nearly 7 3-pointers attempted per game. He made those shots at only a 27.9% rate.

“Undoubtedly, Johnson’s greatest strength at the moment is his shooting prowess,” said Welch, the Pro Insight Basketball analyst. “He has seemingly limitless range and is capable of taking and making shots over contests and off movement with regularity.”

Last season, Pope’s final team at BYU — where he served as the head coach for five seasons before arriving back in Lexington — averaged more than 81 points per game and attempted 32 3-pointers per game.

“Just watching (Johnson) warm up, you can see the unique attention to detail he puts into his shooting versatility and it pays off in dividends,” Welch added.

Additionally, both Sisk and Welch said a fast-paced offensive style of play should fit Johnson well, given his shooting ability and transition skills. Last season, Pope’s BYU team averaged 16.5 seconds per offensive possession, per KenPom.

“I think Mark Pope offers a very good system if you’re a guard and you want the ball in your hands, and you can score and play offensively,” Sisk said. “I think he’s a very good coach to play for.”

Jasper Johnson is highest-rated recruit Mark Pope has ever landed

Johnson is the first five-star prospect (according to the 247Sports Composite) that Pope has ever successfully recruited to a college program.

Moreno — Pope’s first 2025 commit at Kentucky — is ranked as a four-star prospect and is on the cusp of becoming a five-star.

Across the nine seasons Pope spent as the head coach at Utah Valley and BYU, the top-ranked recruit he landed was four-star guard Collin Chandler, who was ranked as the No. 37 overall prospect in the 2022 recruiting class before taking a two-year mission trip. Chandler will be one of three freshmen on Pope’s first UK basketball roster this fall.

Another key point to note with Johnson’s commitment to the Cats is that it gives Kentucky the early lead in the 2025 team recruiting rankings.

Members of next year’s college basketball recruiting class are moving slow when it comes to picking a school.

According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, only five players in the top 30 have committed. Only three schools have commitments from multiple players inside the top 80 of the rankings: Iowa State, Kentucky and Ole Miss.

Pope and UK have now secured commitments from Johnson (No. 10 in those rankings) and Moreno (No. 27).

“You’ve got that momentum, that looks attractive,” Sisk said, while underscoring the importance of having recruiting momentum as the fall official visit period looms. “You’ve really got something going on when these kids come in to visit. … (It shows that) ‘Yes, we can close the deal.’ Having momentum and being attractive, then being able to go close it and get those guys, that’s a huge thing.”

Kentucky is also now on a generational roll when it comes to recruiting the commonwealth’s best in-state prospects.

This began under Calipari with Reed Sheppard (2023, North Laurel) and Travis Perry (2024, Lyon County). Now, Moreno (2025, Great Crossing) and Johnson (who played three seasons at Woodford County) are in the fold.

Pope’s first UK roster also includes former Harlan County standout Trent Noah, a four-star prospect who was previously signed to play at South Carolina.

The UK men’s basketball program is in position to bring in three consecutive winners of the Kentucky Mr. Basketball award (Sheppard, Perry and Moreno, who is the early favorite to win the 2025 award) for the first time since the late 1980s.

Johnson may no longer play high school basketball in Kentucky, but his commitment to UK (which came in the commonwealth) will be celebrated as a prized prospect opting to stay home for school.

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