While many of the Big Blue Nation are enthralled with the change in pace and perspective that this year’s veteran-heavy team have provided, most can’t help but excitedly look on to what Mark Pope is building for next season, too.

Despite having only secured three recruits thus far, Kentucky already has a top five freshman class for the 2025-26′ season, according to 247Sports. And Coach Pope and company aren’t done yet.

The long-rumored cherry on top, if you will, for the upcoming class has been five-star power forward Caleb Wilson, out of Holy Innocents Episcopal School in Atlanta, GA.

Wilson, who is widely recognized to be down to Kentucky and North Carolina at this point in his recruitment, has long been tied to Mark Pope’s new regime since he began assembling it last year.

Big Blue Dominos

First came four-star, 6’10 center Malachi Moreno, a hometown recruit and a local favorite. Then came five-star, “I’m KY ’til I die” guard Jasper Johnson, who’s commitment to Kentucky felt like a comeback win for Pope after Alabama had been heavily favored to land him for much of the recruitment race.

The latest and last of which was Acaden Lewis; a four-star guard set to run with Johnson in the backcourt, who cited Coach Pope’s authenticity as a primary reason for his decision.

In the new age of UK basketball in which the one-and-done philosophy of old is far less prevalent, Wilson is seen as the potential final piece of Mark Pope’s puzzle for next season. He’d fit perfectly as a physical presence in the paint next to Moreno, possessing breakout athletic ability and a clear knowledge of the game.

Four highly-touted recruits, on top of multiple expected/possible returners and transfer portal options, would strike a balance between weathered experience and raw talent unlike anything Kentucky has seen in years.

So what’s the deal with Wilson, then? Well, the good news is a commitment is generally anticipated within the month.

The not-so-good news, though not exactly bad either, is that his outlook is muddier than ever.

“Ask Again Later”

While there are no official predictions via the 247Sports Crystal Ball, multiple insiders are touting differing opinions. Anecdotes scattered throughout the last few months from various sources all seemed to point to Kentucky. That is, until Travis Branham, of 247Sports, said that he believes UNC has taken the lead just earlier this week.

Yet Joe Tipton, almost in unison with Branham, declared the opposite, “Everything I’ve heard suggests UK is in the driver’s seat,” he said on “Here Comes the Boom.”

Both Tipton and Branham are reputable reporters with evidenced pasts, and they aren’t alone on either end of this split. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and in this case, it seems to be coming from both sides.

As it usually goes with these kinds of things, all the Kentucky faithful can really do is hurry up and wait. Either way, what Mark Pope is done in less than one year at Kentucky is mightily impressive, and even being in the conversation for Wilson at this stage is encouraging.

Let’s just hope he goes for the darker blue cap on commitment day.

Despite losing an undeniably important conference battle on the road, Texas A&M’s head coach Buzz Williams had only kind things to say about the Kentucky team that had just defeated him, as well as his coaching counterpart, Mark Pope.

While the Aggies got out to a hot start, Kentucky took control of the lead before halftime, and never once looked back. It was a hard-fought, tooth-and-nail kind of game, one that the Wildcats would eventually win 81-69.

“Beautiful” Basketball

After the game, he opened on a question about Kentucky’s offense, which he’d previously dubbed “beautiful.” He said, “I’ve really enjoyed studying it… really good players. A lot of variety to the skill, as you know, but I think the utilization of the talent and the skill, considering the newness of the coach and his staff and the players, that’s really difficult to do.”

“For them to have the execution that they have… remarkable.”

On the topic of technical fouls and flaring emotion, Williams emphasized the natural occurrence of these things in a conference like the SEC. Though he made sure to give Kentucky, and everything that comes with the program, the proper flowers.

“This is the best job in college basketball, and the arena, and all that comes with it. I think everybody would agree with that,” he said.

Emotion vs. “E-motion”

“There’s gonna be emotions. I think you have to play with great emotion in order for it to be a game, you just can’t be E-motional.”

Texas A&M’s bench received a collective technical foul early in the game, followed by a singular one assessed to Jaxson Robinson, after he turned and gestured to said bench following a made three.

Additionally, Buzz called Robinson “one of the best players in his class,” and also said, quite assuredly, that Kentucky is “good enough to win a national championship.”

Coach Williams is truly all class, and the Aggies will be forever formidable in the SEC so long as he is at the helm.

After downing the Aggies at home, Kentucky stands alone as the only team in the nation at 5-0 against ranked opponents. They’ll have a chance to add another win to that column against the visiting, fourth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, Jan. 18th.

In yet another endearing move at the base of a microphone, Mark Pope introduced the Big Blue Nation to the Matt Santoro “Hit Champion of the Game” award in the press conference following Kentucky’s big home win over Texas A&M.

Matt Santoro, a video coordinator for UK Athletics, hands out the aforementioned certificate to a player after every game. Addison Feldhaus, the Creative Content Director for UK Athletics, is the artist behind the physical awards themselves.

“So Matt has a staff… we’ll usually have 12 segments in practice, and seven of them will be live, and so Matt live stats with his team every single rebound that goes up and who’s getting a hit,” he explained.

“It’s not just getting a rebound, but it’s actually doing their job blocking out and getting the hit. And then he makes an announcement, over either the loudspeaker here at Rupp… in the JCC (The Joe Craft Center,) he has a megaphone. He makes the announcement after every single segment.”

Pope said that his staff did an “unbelievable job” earlier in the season highlighting exceptional individual efforts, showing guys what it looks like to be successful. Now?

“It’s getting easy,” he said.

As for who’s winning the award…

“After every game, the hit champion, on Thursday we’ll present the hit champ of this game with an official certificate. Ansley Almonor is 2/2, so we’ll see if he goes 3 straight games,” Pope said.

The Wildcats’ rebounding, which was not so long ago a point of contention and real concern, has seen rapid improvement over the last few games. Against Texas A&M specifically, who entered the game as the eighth-best rebounding team in the nation, Kentucky led the margin by double digits, at 40-30.

With success such as that on the glass, questions about the team’s physicality are beginning to quiet down. Kentucky heard the “soft” allegations, according to Jaxson Robinson, and they’ve responded accordingly.

You can’t help but marvel at a staff like this one; one that inspires and moves their players in creative, and effective ways. From the head coach and his associate crew, to the video coordinators and content creators. It’s a big blue family, and a winning one, at that.