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

Mark Pope has signed another important recruit in Kentucky. And that name is already familiar to many UK fans in the Commonwealth.

On Thursday afternoon, five-star 2025 quarterback Jasper Johnson signed with Pope and the Wildcats.

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

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

Johnson chose UK from a final list of schools that also included Alabama, Arkansas, Louisville and North Carolina, although Alabama, UK and UNC were considered viable options for him.

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

Johnson will play his final season on Atlanta-based Overtime Elite (OTE). OTE was the final stop before college for former Cat player Rob Dillingham, as well as former UK players Somto Cyril and Karter Knox.

Johnson committed to Kentucky during an event in Woodford County in Versailles.

“Perhaps Johnson’s most intriguing trait is his flexibility in playing roles.” Zach WelchPro Insight Basketball analyst, told the Herald-Leader. “He’s had certain contexts where he’s been primarily an off-ball shooter, certain contexts where he’s been able to use his creation skills a little more, and he’s had certain contexts where he’s been the main offensive engine. His willingness to take on different roles and learn how to provide value in different contexts is invaluable.”

Johnson — whose father is Dennis Johnson, a former American football player from Harrodsburg, England, and the NFL who is currently the head American football coach and athletic director at Woodford County — has long been a recruiting target for the Wildcats.

That process began under former coach John Calipari, who offered Johnson a 2023 scholarship in May after 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, who watched Johnson explode for 37 points in a January game at the Woodford County gym in Versailles. Johnson officially visited the UK in February.

England continued to court Johnson when Pope took over as Great Britain coach.

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

But the offseason coaching change from Calipari to Pope affected Johnson’s recruitment for a time.

Throughout the spring and summer, Johnson was seen as a strong Alabama backer. This was despite Johnson’s recruitment, which included a large number of ““It’s complete opposite news,” said David Sisk, a Rivals basketball analyst who covers Kentucky and North Carolina.

“You’ve heard all these different things, I mean they could be as different as they come, and a lot of different information about it,” Sisk told the Herald-Leader.

The information was diverse and covered everything from perceptions of specific coaches to interest in a name, image and likeness (NIL) financial package.

Ultimately, Sisk said Kentucky’s NIL offer to Johnson was “probably a big factor” in his decision to move on from Alabama to commit to Kentucky. He also spoke about the significance of Kentucky committing a significant NIL amount to a player of Johnson’s caliber.

“What you see now is that Kentucky, the coach, the administration, the sponsors … all work very closely together to do whatever it takes to recruit new members,” Sisk said.

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

After performing in front of Pope and the new Kentucky coaching staff at the EYBL in May, Johnson spoke about his initial impressions of Pope with the Wildcats.

“I know he was in my shoes at one point,” Johnson said, referring to the fact that Pope played at Kentucky and won a national championship with the Wildcats in 1996. “He played there, so I know he understands the game and believes in his players. I know he’s going to be a big factor being in the SEC. … But I feel like (UK) is going to have a good season this season.”

“He was there, he really heard his message and he put it into my game and stuff like that,” Johnson added. “It’s always good to have a coach who’s played the game.”

It’s widely believed that Pope’s signature offensive style — a five-out, well-spaced offense that emphasizes three-point shooting — should mesh well with Johnson’s skill set.

The left-handed Johnson has a long throwing range, but his consistency in that department was questionable while playing for Thad in the EYBL.

Last season in the EYBL and this summer, Johnson averaged nearly 7 3-point attempts per game, and he made just 27.9 percent of those attempts.

“Johnson’s biggest strength right now is undoubtedly his shooting,” said Welch, an analyst for Pro Insight Basketball.He seems to have limitless range and can make and hit shots during competition and on the move with regularity.

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

“You only have to watch (Johnson) warm up to see the extreme attention to detail he puts into his shooting versatility, and it pays dividends,” Welch added.

Additionally, both Sisk and Welch said an up-tempo, offensive style of play should suit Johnson, given his shooting and transition skills. Pope’s BYU teams averaged 16.5 seconds per offensive possession last season, according to KenPom.

“I think Mark Pope offers a very good system if you’re a defender and you want to get the ball in your hands and you can score and play offense,” Sisk said.I think he is a very good coach under whose care it is possible to play.”

Jasper Johnson is the highest-rated recruit Mark Pope has ever signed

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

Moreno — the first player Pope committed to Kentucky in 2025 — is rated a four-star prospect and is on the cusp of becoming a five-star.

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

Another important point to note about Johnson committing to the Cats is that it gives Kentucky an early boost in the team’s recruiting rankings for the class of 2025.

Members of next year’s college basketball recruiting class are taking their time choosing 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 in the top 80: Iowa State, Kentucky and Ole Miss.

Pope and UK have already secured commitments from Johnson (No. 10 in this ranking) and Moreno (No. 27).

“You have that momentum, it looks attractive,” Sisk said, while emphasizing the importance of having recruiting momentum as the season for official visits approaches in the fall.Something really happens when these kids come in and visit. (It shows that) ‘Yeah, we can get this deal done.’ Having the momentum and being attractive and then being able to get this deal done and get these guys, that’s huge.”

Kentucky is currently riding a generational wave when it comes to recruiting the state’s top candidates.

It started 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 on the roster.

Pope’s first UK squad also included former Harlan County standout Trent Noah, a four-star prospect who had previously signed with South Carolina.

The UK men’s basketball program is poised to produce three consecutive Kentucky Mr. Basketball winners (Sheppard, Perry and Moreno, who is an early favorite to win the award in 2025), marking the first time that has happened since the late 1980s.

Johnson may no longer be playing high school basketball in Kentucky, but his commitment to Team UK (which was formed within the Commonwealth) will be celebrated as a valued prospect who chose to stay home for his studies.

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