Mark Pope is after another talented guard in the transfer portal

Coach Pope's search for portal players continues.

Mark Pope is in a really tough spot trying to put together a competitive roster for the 2024-25 season. Coach Pope was left with just about an empty roster and he has to have enough players to compete at Kentucky's standards.

To this point, all of the players' Coach Pope has reached out to are excellent fits for his system, but some of these players need to start committing.

Recently, Coach Pope reached out to another solid portal player as Saint's Mary's Aidan Mahaney has heard from Kentucky's new head basketball coach. Last season for the Gales, Mahaney averaged 13.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.

The 6'3 guard from California was a First-Team All-WCC selection thanks to this play last season as he led the Gales to a WCC Tournament Championship over Gonzaga.

Mahaney shot 35.5% from three last season for Saint Mary's and was shot 6.9 threes per game for the Gales. During the 2022-23 season, Mahaney shot 40% from three, so he is an excellent shooter who would be a perfect fit for Coach Pope's offensive system.

Mahaney has heard from schools like Duke, UConn, Creighton, Michigan, Florida, Arkansas, and St. John's, so it will not be an easy battle for Coach Pope to win.

If he wants his first team in Lexington to be a competitive one, he needs to start winning some of these recruiting battles.

We will likely start seeing players commit to Kentucky over the next few days as we see the 2024-25 roster start to come together.