"Couldn't have done it without really special people": Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart makes feelings known on hiring Kenny Brooks, Mark Pope

Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart sent shockwaves through the basketball world last year when he hired Kenny Brooks and Mark Pope to be the Wildcats' new coaches.

Barnhart made his feelings known about Brooks and Pope on Wednesday in an interview with ESPN commentator Paul Finebaum at the SEC Spring Meetings in Miramar Beach, Florida.

Finebaum asked Barnhart for his insight into hiring Pope and Brooks to lead Kentucky's men's and women's basketball teams. Barnhart was in a race against time to fill the coaching vacancies following the departures of John Calipari and Kyra Elzy after the 2023-24 NCAA season.

"Just two really special coaches," Barnhart said (0:31). "To have an opportunity over a three-week period of time to switch both of your basketball coaches and bring in two guys that are so bright and so thoughtful. They came in, and they had essentially no roster, no coaches."

Mitch Barnhart praised Kenny Brooks and Mark Pope for assembling rosters that competed in the 2024-25 NCAA season.

"Coach Brooks brought in a dynamic player in Georgia Amoore, who is so much fun to watch. The team, she made it better around her.

"And then Coach Pope obviously put together a roster that fit his personality and his team. And the two of them together, they played off each other very, very well."

Barnhart added that it would be fun to write about his pursuit of Brooks and Pope to be the next Kentucky coaches in a book someday.

"It was a lot of fun, and there’s probably Chapter 2 in the book, somewhere along the way for the way it all came together, but boy, you couldn’t have done it without really special people," Barnhart said.

Kenny Brooks exceeded expectations in his first year in charge of Kentucky, winning the Sporting News' National Coach of the Year award after leading the Wildcats to a 23-8 record in the 2024-25 season. Mark Pope, meanwhile, finished his first season as Kentucky coach with a 24-12 overall record.

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How Kenny Brooks and Mark Pope fared in their first NCAA Tournament at Kentucky

Kentucky Wildcats coach Mark Pope (Photo: Imagn)

Kenny Brooks and the Kentucky Wildcats entered the Women's NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the Regional 4 bracket. They opened their March Madness campaign against No. 13 seed Liberty with a thrilling 79-78 win in the first round. Their NCAA title hopes ended in the second round, though, losing 80-79 to No. 5 seed Kansas State in overtime.

Mark Pope's Kentucky team, meanwhile reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022 after beating Troy and Illinois in the first two rounds. They fell short in their bid to win the title, though, losing 78-65 to Tennessee in the Sweet 16.