BYU men's basketball head coach Mark Pope has emerged as a candidate to possibly fill Kentucky's current vacancy, according to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein.

Pope has nine years of head coaching experience at the collegiate level and has been with BYU since the 2019-20 season. He owns a career record of 187-108.

The Wildcats' head coaching job opened after former coach John Calipari surprisingly left to join Arkansas. Calipari had served as Kentucky's head coach since he was hired in 2009.

Pope's relationship with Kentucky goes back to his playing days, as he spent three years with the school from 1993 through 1996 which included a redshirt season. He was a member of the Wildcats' title-winning team in 1996, appearing in 69 total games and making 14 starts under former head coach Rick Pitino.

Pope has fond memories of his Kentucky days, explaining that "any year you get to spend there is a gift" in a 2020 interview (h/t On3.com).

"If I could have had two redshirt years I would have taken them," Pope added. "But for me also, the fervor around that program, the noise around it is just so fantastic."

Following an impressive head coaching stint at Utah Valley University, the former Wildcat has experienced similar levels of success at BYU since he was hired in 2019. The Cougars have made NCAA tournament appearances in two of the past four years, including one in a 2023-24 season that also represented their first year in the Big 12.

Although BYU's March Madness run ended early with a first-round loss to a No. 11 seed Duquesne team, Pope's résumé still speaks for itself.

Kentucky will likely focus on Pope with UConn's Dan Hurley, Alabama's Nate Oats, and Baylor head coach Scott Drew seemingly no longer in the running for the job.