Mark Pope and Kentucky are wasting no time in staking their claim on the nation’s top underclassmen. The Wildcats have officially widened their 2027 recruiting board, extending fresh scholarship offers to several of the most highly touted prospects in the country.
One of the latest names to emerge is Beckham Black, a four-star shooting guard from Duncanville, Texas, now suiting up at Southeastern Prep in Florida. The 6-foot-2, 160-pound guard had been in steady contact with Kentucky since June 15, but his recruitment took a major turn this week. Black officially received his Kentucky offer after Pope made a personal stop at his school on Monday, according to KSR’s Jacob Polacheck.
“Coach Pope came to my school and sat down with me and a couple of my teammates. It was a really cool experience,” Black told Polacheck. “He’s been watching us, likes what we’re doing, and he really believes in us as a team.”
Black is far from the only Southeastern Prep product on Kentucky’s radar. The Wildcats have also extended offers to Obinna Ekezie Jr., Marcus Spears Jr., and C.J. Rosser—all of whom rank among the most promising young players in the nation.
Kentucky’s staff also set their sights on Nasir Anderson, a dynamic five-star point guard out of Prolific Prep in Norcross, Georgia. Anderson, who checks in at 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, is currently ranked as the No. 1 point guard and the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2027 class.
By adding Anderson to the mix with Black, Rosser, Spears Jr., and Ekezie Jr., Kentucky has now issued offers to five of the top 10 recruits in the entire 2027 class. That aggressive approach makes it clear Pope’s strategy is to establish relationships early and position Kentucky as the program to beat as decisions near in 2026 and 2027.
For a program built on elite recruiting, this early push into the 2027 class shows that Pope and his staff are setting the stage for future dominance—one top prospect at a time.
