Mark Pope's 2025 recruit Jasper Johnson sends 4-word message to Kentucky fans following Lexington arrival

Jasper Johnson, a five-star guard in the 2025 class, announced his commitment to Mark Pope's Kentucky in September last year. He used four words to express himself to the Big Blue Nation fans.

After he made his decision at the press conference in his old high school, Woodford County High, 247Sports posted the phrase on Instagram.

"K.Y. TILL I DIE," he Kentucky basketball commit said.

The four-word statement has been his motto ever since and with his arrival in Lexington on Thursday, Johnson posted the same phrase on X (formerly Twitter). He posted a picture of his locker at Kentucky with his name on it.

"Ky Til I Die 🏀🪣💙!!!" he wrote.

Jasper Johnson was among the many Kentucky recruits who moved to Lexington this week. Five-star recruit Malachi Moreno and Tulane transfer Kam Williams also arrived on the campus on Thursday. Meanwhile, Arizona State center Jayden Quaintance and Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen arrived a day earlier.

They will participate in Kentucky’s summer workouts in preparation for the 2025–26 season. The Wildcats had a rocky season under Coach Pope's first year, which saw them go 24-15 and lose to Tennessee in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

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Jasper Johnson reveals why he said 'KY Till I Die' on commitment

Kentucky has the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation. Mark Pope added Jasper Johnson, Malachi Moreno, Braydon Hawthorne and an international prospect in Andrija Jelavic this offseason.

During his commitment, Johnson uttered the phrase "KY Til I Die," and he revealed the reason behind it during this week's episode of BBN Tonight.

"It’s kinda crazy. I think it was like a week before I committed, I was in Atlanta, Coach Pope and his staff came down to talk to me," Johnson said. "He was like, 'Jasper, when you commit, you need to say something that really gets to the BBN fans and the community.' I was thinking what I was gonna say but I didn’t really come up with anything. But when I wanted to commit, it just came from the heart, just naturally came out."

After that, the "KY 'Til I Die" merchandise was born, and it quickly became a hit in Lexington.