Kentucky is reportedly sticking with head coach Mark Pope despite an early NCAA Tournament loss.
Pope, the former BYU head coach who replaced John Calipari at Kentucky, has led the Wildcats to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in his first two seasons. Kentucky went 24–12 last year, reaching the Sweet 16. This year, the Wildcats went 22–14, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky, a No. 7 seed, was blown out by No. 2 seed Iowa State, 82-63, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
But while Kentucky fans are frustrated by a lack of deep NCAA Tournament runs, the Wildcats will not be making any changes.
Dec. 2, 2025
Vaughts Views of Your Sports Edge says that there is "no way" that Mark Pope won't be back in 2026-27.
"Pope does not have a high school player committed or signed for next season. He likely will have to put together a new roster for the third straight season with no guarantees or who off this year’s team may or may not return," he wrote.
"Still, there’s no way he’s not going to be back at Kentucky next season. First, retiring athletics director Mitch Barnhart is not going to make a coaching change in his final months on the job. Second, Pope deserves another chance to see if can keep a healthy roster and have a better team. Third, Kentucky cannot afford to make a change even if it wanted to."
Kentucky will stick with Mark Pope for a third year
After two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 berth last year, the Wildcats will surely be bringing Pope back for at least one more year.
The Wildcats will have to put a quality roster together, but they are armed with some pretty significant NIL money.
Kentucky will look to contend at the top of the SEC heading into the 2026-27 season.
