Will Riley includes Kentucky in top 5; Nate Ament discusses interest from Mark Pope
Mark Pope has Kentucky in the mix for these 5-star recruits.
Although Mark Pope is concentrating his efforts on prospects through the transfer portal, he is still actively seeking out high school talent.
Under John Calipari, one of the Kentucky Wildcats’ first goals in the class of 2025 was top-15 recruit Will Riley. Coach Pope seems to be keeping Kentucky in the running for the five-star small forward.
Riley has whittled down his choice to five, according to Joe Tipton of On3. Kentucky and Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks are still in the running. Riley is reportedly planning a quick trip to Kentucky, according to Tipton.
Riley is not openly in possession of a Kentucky scholarship offer..
The 6-foot-8, 178-pound Riley plays for The Phelps School in Pennsylvania and holds scholarship offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Michigan, UCLA, Villanova, Oregon, and Texas Tech, among others. He’s ranked 15th overall in 2025 and third among small forwards via 247 Sports Composite.
As Pope attempts to create his first authentic high school recruiting class in Lexington, he is beginning to receive calls from Kentucky for another of the best players in the 2025 class.
According to 247 Sports Composite, Nate Ament is a 5-star recruit who is ranked fifth among power forwards in his class and 18th overall.
The 6-foot-9 Virginia forward provided an update on his recruiting during a conversation with On3’s Jamie Shaw.
Ament mentioned that Pope had somewhat recruited him while he was at BYU, but that he is currently attempting to strengthen that connection in order to perhaps get him to Kentucky.
“When they were at BYU, they somewhat recruited me.” Since they’re in Kentucky, they’re attempting to get to know me and talk to me on the phone as much as they can. We are still establishing that connection. To be honest, I haven’t seen a lot of BYU. However, they like my length, my versatility, and my ability to shoot and pass. I’m confident that I can seamlessly integrate into practically any system.
Seeing what classes Pope can create now that he has the platform of a program like Kentucky will be interesting. Hiring someone like Ament would be a terrific way for him to begin his time in Lexington.
