"Too bad he coming to Louisville”: Hoops fans react as Kentucky HC Mark Pope witnesses 5-star Tyran Stokes impress vs Bishop Alemany

Five-star Kentucky native Tyran Stokes is one of the biggest prizes from the Class of 2026, so it is no surprise that an interested head coach traveled miles to watch him play. On Wednesday, Stokes led Notre Dame to a 93-54 win over Bishop Alemany.

Watching the small forward on the sidelines was Kentucky Wildcats coach Mark Pope. Ballislife shared a video of the coach on Instagram on Thursday with the caption:

"Kentucky Head Coach Mark Pope was in the building for the Tyran Stokes show last night! Will we see Tyran at UK in the future? 👀."

While Kentucky is one of the schools trying to recruit the five-star small forward, Stokes is originally from Louisville, Kentucky and the Cardinals are considered the clear favorites to recruit him. However, this did not dissuade Coach Pope from watching him play, as there is still a long time until Stokes makes his decision.

Louisville fans took to their comments to share their thoughts on this.

"Too bad he coming to Louisville.. 😤😉," said one commenter.

"Sorry bro, he’s a Cardinal," another Louisville fan added.

"be nice but he prolly going to the ville," another person pointed out.

There were also some Wildcats fans keeping the hope alive, while others were just enjoying the Kentucky vs. Louisville rivalry playing out in the battle for Tyran Stokes.

"PK & Pope battle for Stokes 👀," said another commenter.

"And he going to play for the rival," added one commenter.

"uk bound," said another person, hoping he would go to Kentucky.

Fans react to Mark Pope watching Tyran Stokes play (Source: Instagram/ @ballislife)

The win against the Warriors comes after the Knights lost 76-53 to the Cameron and Cayden Boozer-led Christopher Columbus Explorers on Jan. 18.

Notre Dame will next take on four-star Nik Khamenia, a Duke signee, and Harvard Westlake on Friday.

Does Kentucky stand a chance in recruiting No. 1 ranked junior Tyran Stokes?

Tyran Stokes is still a junior, which means he has at least a year to decide where to go. However, Louisville is already being treated as the frontrunner, with a 68.8% chance of recruiting him. Stokes officially visited his hometown school last October.

Meanwhile, Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have been given by On3 a 1.9% chance to land the five-star small forward. The Xavier Musketeers are in third place with a 1.6% chance.