Mark Pope visiting top-10 recruit and reclass candidate Ryan Hampton on Monday

Dynamic Prep guard Ryan Hampton (14) drives to the basket during the second quarter of the City of Palms Classic signature series championship game against the Bullis Bulldogs at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla. , on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024.

| Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network-Florida / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images As Mark Pope works frantically to build the 2026-27 Kentucky Basketball roster, we now have a high school reclassification candidate to monitor. According to On3’s Joe Tipton , Pope is set to have an in-home visit with 5-star wing Ryan Hampton. Tipton also notes that Hampton is a reclass candidate, which he almost has to be for Pope to visit him at a time when nearly all of his focus is on next season’s roster.

Hampton does not currently hold a scholarship offer from the Wildcats, but that may very well come Monday. The 6-foot-6 Texas native is the brother of former Kentucky recruit R. J.

Hampton, a 5-star recruit in the class of 2019 who ended up playing in Australia before being drafted into the NBA, where he spent four years and now plays in China. The younger Hampton, who plays at DME Academy in Florida, is ranked as high as fifth overall in the 2027 class by 247 Sports. He holds scholarship offers from Kansas, Indiana, Tennessee, SMU, Texas, Louisville, Nebraska, Texas A&M, NC State, and LSU, among others.