‘Such a big deal.’ Travis Perry, Trent Noah talk UK basketball in-state recruiting success.

Kentucky basketball’s in-state recruiting revival began under former head coach John Calipari, but make no mistake: Mark Pope has used his first offseason as UK’s coach to continue the pursuit of the state’s best players.

Starting with a commitment from Reed Sheppard in November 2021, UK basketball has regained its footing as the top college basketball destination for the commonwealth’s best players.

Sheppard — the 2023 Kentucky Mr. Basketball who went on to be a one-and-done star on Calipari’s final UK squad and the No. 3 overall pick in this summer’s NBA draft — renewed a trend of the state’s top players opting to play for the Wildcats.

This season’s Kentucky squad features two in-state products: This year’s Mr. Basketball, Travis Perry (Lyon County) and Harlan County alumnus Trent Noah. Pope still had to do some recruiting to retain Perry — who previously committed to and signed with Kentucky when Calipari was the coach — and Noah, who was previously signed to play at South Carolina before flipping to UK in May.

But before either Perry or Noah plays in a game for the Cats, Pope furthered the program’s in-state recruiting momentum.

In August, Pope got his first 2025 commitment from center Malachi Moreno, a five-star prospect and local high school basketball star at Great Crossing High School in Georgetown. In September, Pope got his second 2025 commitment from guard Jasper Johnson, another five-star recruit and the son of former UK football star Dennis Johnson. Jasper is a Kentucky native who began his high school career at Woodford County in Versailles.

“In terms of in-state, local talent, that’s always been a really important part of the mix,” Pope said Tuesday afternoon during UK’s annual media day. “The depth of talent in the state of Kentucky will — like every state it will have some fluctuations — but there’s great talent in this state right now, tremendous talent.”

Travis Perry, Trent Noah talk Kentucky basketball recruiting

Since becoming Kentucky’s coach in April, Pope has repeatedly stressed the value of having in-state players on his Kentucky basketball teams. Perry and Noah know this firsthand, and they’re as happy as anyone to see it continue next year with Moreno and Johnson.

“I’m so glad that they chose to stay home,” Noah said. “It’s just such a big deal, especially for the state. I’m so excited to play with them next year. It should just make for a really fun year.”

“They’re great players, that’s the obvious part,” Perry added about Moreno and Johnson. “But they’re great dudes as well. That’s something that’s really important … I’m very excited about having some guys that I know, and that you know love the state of Kentucky, love Kentucky basketball and will really come in and work their hardest to represent it well.”

Perry, a 6-foot-1 guard who is the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky boys high school basketball history, scored 25 points as a junior in a loss to Moreno’s Great Crossing team at the 2022 King of the Bluegrass tournament. Moreno had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds in that game.

In March, Perry scored 24 points as Lyon County, the eventual state champions, topped Great Crossing in the Sweet 16 state tournament semifinals. Moreno had another double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds in the loss, which marked the only time last season that Great Crossing came up short against another Kentucky high school.

Noah, listed as a 6-foot-5 forward after playing guard at Harlan County, never faced Moreno or Johnson in a high school game.

Perry and Noah aren’t projected to be one-and-done players at UK, although this was also true of Sheppard. Still, the expectation is that both players will be back in Lexington next year for their sophomore seasons, which means they’ll share the floor with Moreno and Johnson.

Should this be the case, then Kentucky’s 2025-26 roster will include at least four recruited, scholarship players from the commonwealth. The last time UK had four such players on the same team was the 2005-06 roster with Rajon Rondo (Eastern High School in Louisville through his junior high school season), Patrick Sparks (Muhlenberg North), Brandon Stockton (Glasgow) and Jared Carter (Scott County).

UK could also field teams with three straight winners of the Kentucky Mr. Basketball award. Sheppard (North Laurel) won the honor in 2023, Perry (Lyon County) followed in 2024 and Moreno (Great Crossing) is the early favorite to win the 2025 award.

Noah and Johnson also did plenty during their Kentucky high school careers.

At Harlan County, Noah scored 3,707 career points (unofficially fifth-most all time) and led the Black Bears to the 2024 Sweet 16 state tournament title game, which they lost to Perry and Lyon County.

“It’s incredible. It means the world to both of us,” Noah said about playing at UK with Perry. “We talk about it all the time. Just how this really is a dream, it’s a dream come true. To be able to put on the Kentucky jersey, that’s just something that’s not taken lightly.”

“It’s super special to grow up here, watch it for so long and then get to be a part of it,” Perry added about playing for UK. “It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe, really.”

While he was at Woodford County, Johnson — as a sophomore — powered the Yellow Jackets to the Sweet 16 semifinals. Johnson played his junior season at Link Academy in Missouri and is closing his prep career with the Overtime Elite (OTE) program in Atlanta.

At OTE, Johnson is teammates with another talented former Kentucky high school star, class of 2026 guard Taylen Kinney. While at Newport High School, Kinney — who has a Kentucky scholarship offer — played in the 2023 and 2024 Sweet 16 state tournaments.

“Kentucky in general is a great state for basketball,” Perry said. “I think it’s important that the best players out of the state come here every year and get to compete together and then compete for the state collectively. That’s something that’s very important and I’ve believed in for a long time.”

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