IN PICS: Tyran Stokes poses in Kentucky jersey on official visit to Mark Pope’s team

After his official visit to in-state rival Louisville, Tyran Stokes, the No. 1-ranked prospect from the Class of 2026 (per 247sports), made an official visit to Kentucky on Wednesday. Wildcats coach Mark Pope rolled out the red carpet for the top recruit, with Stokes donning the blue and white for his official visit photo shoot.

Stokes also tweeted about his visit on Wednesday, including a picture of himself with his mom, as well as highlights of himself playing for his AAU team, the Oakland Soldiers.

Despite playing in Southern California last season for Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks), Tyran Stokes is actually a native of Louisville, Kentucky, with his hometown school, Louisville, being considered the heavy favorite. However, the University of Kentucky over at Lexington is not far behind in the race for the No. 1 2026 prospect.

On3 ranks Louisville as the likeliest school to land Tyran Stokes at 32.6%, though Mark Pope's Wildcats are not far behind, sitting in second place with a 28.5% chance. Kansas, a school that Stokes officially visited last April 19, is in third with a 24.4% chance. He also has offers from Oregon, Arkansas, and more, but he has not revealed plans to visit the other schools yet.

Should Mark Pope land the No. 1 prospect, Stokes would become his biggest recruit to date, with the Wildcats coach aiming to halt Kentucky's 13-year national title drought with the small forward. However, Louisville does not just have the hometown factor but has also been aggressive in trying to recruit the Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) star. There is also the dark horse in the race, Kansas.

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Tyran Stokes talks about how Mark Pope and Kentucky were recruiting him

Before his visit to Lexington on Wednesday, Tyran Stokes talked about his relationship with Mark Pope and how his recruitment with the Wildcats had been faring in an interview with On3 in July 2024. He said that Kentucky was also very aggressive in trying to recruit him.

“I mean, it’s still close to home and still a great, great program with a great coach,” Tyran Stokes said. “Coach Mark (Pope), he’s a great dude. He’s always texting me, catching up and telling me congratulations on the games and stuff like that. For the most part, I’m talking to Coach Mark.”

Stokes also said that he wanted a school that he is comfortable with and plays his type of game.