He visited UK for Big Blue Madness last year. Now, other SEC schools lead his recruitment.

The offseason change from John Calipari to Mark Pope as the head coach of the Kentucky basketball program has produced a whole host of new recruiting names for Wildcats fans to become familiar with.

From five-star class of 2025 guard Trey McKenney to four-star small forward Shelton Henderson, new prospects have become visible to UK recruiters since Pope, along with assistant coaches Jason Hart, Cody Fueger, and Alvin Brooks III, moved to Lexington. (The three UK assistants who are authorized to conduct recruitment are Brooks, Fueger, and Hart.)

Although Pope’s method of evaluating talent and recruiting strategy are very different from Calipari’s, numerous former UK recruits are still on the coaching staff of the UK.

Top-ranked player AJ Dybantsa (who has received a scholarship offer from Pope again) and twin brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer (sons of former Duke and NBA great Carlos Boozer) are among the class of 2025 stars in this group, as is Jasper Johnson (a previous in-state star at Woodford County).

An intriguing storyline to follow during Pope’s first recruiting cycle as Kentucky’s coach will be whether or not Power forward Josh Wilson, another strong prospect from the class of 2025, joins Pope’s list of prospects who are being lured to Kentucky after initially attracting interest from Calipari in the UK.

Last June, Wilson—a 6-foot-9, 205-pound power forward who is currently listed by the 247Sports Composite as the fourth best player in the 2025 class—was first offered a scholarship to study in the United Kingdom. In October, he attended Calipari’s last Big Blue Madness, a significant recruiting event.

However, since then, other universities—including two more SEC heavyweights—have emerged as the front-runners in Wilson’s recruitment.

The colleges who are currently pursuing Wilson the hardest are Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Duke, Arkansas, and Tennessee Tech, Wilson stated during last weekend’s Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) practice held just outside of Indianapolis.

Should Pope want to, he has every chance to put Kentucky back in the thick of this recruiting race.

That EYBL session near Indianapolis occurred during the first live recruiting period of the spring, when coaches and recruiters are allowed to watch prospects in action. Kentucky had a front-row seat to Wilson’s games with Nightrydas Elite, a star-studded EYBL team that also features the aforementioned Boozer twins.

Wilson began this Nike EYBL season playing for the Georgia Stars program, before joining Nightrydas Elite.

“I like unselfishness, and I also like winning,” Wilson said about why he changed EYBL programs. “I knew that playing with a team like Nightrydas I would get coached, which is something I really want to do because next year I know it’s college basketball. No one’s going to be patient. You go into college basketball with them knowing, or wanting, you to know everything.

“If I want to be looked at and perceived as a freshman who can play, I want to get that knowledge now.”

Wilson put on a show for Pope and company in Indiana: He scored 13 or more points in three of his four games played, including a 13-point, nine-rebound effort that also came with two assists and a steal in a Sunday morning blowout win over All Ohio Red.

“My mom always tells me, ‘The way you do one thing is the way you do everything,’” Wilson said. “I compete on the court just like I compete everywhere else in life.”

“My catch-and-shoot game has gotten way better,” Wilson added about his on-court growth. “And really just playing off the catch. I really wanted to work on that, and I feel like it’s getting better the more and more I’m able to do it, and really defense.”

There’s interest from Wilson in being recruited, again, by Kentucky, even if he hasn’t heard yet from Pope.

“I believe they are seeing me for the first time. About the new UK employees, Wilson remarked, “I really haven’t heard from them at all.” “.. Excellent program of a very high standard. I still find it enjoyable.

Wilson claimed that despite Kentucky’s drastic offseason coaching changes, he has already watched film of Pope’s BYU teams and is familiar with the style of management that the new UK coach prefers to implement.

Wilson stated, “I would like to hear from them,” in reference to Kentucky’s possible interest in recruiting. It’s an excellent conference and an SEC institution. It seems like a place I could go play. Since they have games nearby, I truly enjoy it.

Caleb Wilson talks recruiting interest from Auburn, Tennessee

Whether or not Kentucky is able to regain its previous standing in Wilson’s recruitment, there’s a good chance Wildcats fans will notice his on-court presence in a few years’ time.

Wilson spoke extensively to reporters about the relationship he has fostered with two other SEC schools in his recruitment: Auburn and Tennessee.

“Auburn has a really good Georgia pipeline,” Wilson said. “I definitely respect them. They’re becoming a Nike school soon, which is something I like. Coach Bruce Pearl is a good coach, (he) coaches with intensity and I feel like I’ll learn there.”

Wilson specifically mentioned head coach Rick Barnes and assistant coach Gregg Polinsky of the Volunteers while discussing Tennessee.

Wilson described the two boys as “really cool guys, I talk to them almost every day.” “.. Simply excellent coaches. They play great defense, which is something I’m really starting to do, and they have good offense.

Along with Georgia Tech’s Damon Stoudamire, Barnes is one of the two college coaches with whom Wilson now has the closest relationship.

Wilson also listed Arkansas — a program now featuring Calipari and several ex-Kentucky assistant coaches — among the schools most involved in his recruitment.

But for all the talk of current recruiting and relationship leaders, Wilson is still approaching his recruitment slowly.

He said he doesn’t have any visits currently planned, and he plans to evaluate new schools who could be interested in recruiting him following last weekend’s live period.

Wilson will not attending the fourth and final Nike EYBL regular-season session this weekend. Wilson named three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic as his favorite player to watch. Rather, he is taking part in the training camp for the USA Basketball Under-18 national team in Colorado. At that training camp, twenty-eight players are vying for a position on the 12-person squad that will participate in the FIBA Under-18 Men’s AmeriCup in June, which is being hosted in Argentina.

Wilson will have time to thoroughly evaluate his recruitment environment after that event. By then, we ought to have a clearer idea of how big of a role Kentucky will play.