Kentucky has reportedly found its John Calipari successor.
The Wildcats are targeting BYU’s Mark Pope as their next head coach, according to CBS’ Matt Norlander.
“Nothing is signed at this hour but the sides are quickly working toward a deal and hope to get it done by the end of the night,” Norlander wrote.
Pope was a member of Kentucky’s 1996 national championship team, bringing some familiarity to Big Blue Nation after a quiet coaching search. The 51-year-old is coming off an impressive season at BYU, leading the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament with a 23-11 record in their first Big 12 season.
For more information on Pope and his future at Kentucky, The Sporting News has you covered below.
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Who is Mark Pope? Meet Kentucky’s next head coaching target
Pope was a two-year player at the University of Kentucky, winning a national championship with the Wildcats in 1996.
He began his coaching career in 2009, working as an assistant at Georgia (2009-10), Wake Forest (2010-11) and BYU (2011-15) before taking his first head coaching job at Utah Valley in 2015.
Pope spent four years as head coach at Utah Valley before returning to BYU, serving as head coach for five seasons from 2019-2024.
Pope led the Cougars to two NCAA Tournaments in five seasons, including an impressive 23-11 year in BYU’s first Big 12 campaign this past year.
After Kentucky probed several candidates to replace Calipari in the past week, it reportedly settled on Pope as the next leader in Lexington.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
