The No. 1 player in the 2026 class is from Louisville. Mark Pope is recruiting him to UK.

Like so many of his peers during this period of their lives, the summer between the sophomore and junior years of high school has been one of change for Tyran Stokes.

Stokes — a 6-foot-7, 245-pound power forward — is the top-ranked boys basketball player in the class of 2026 by the 247Sports Composite, a perch that comes with equal parts accolade and scrutiny.

But Stokes, a Louisville native who lived in the Derby City until age 9, has lived up to that billing while being thrust into new situations.

First came a recent dose of high-level international basketball experience: Stokes won a gold medal just a few weeks ago while playing for the United States at the 2024 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Turkey.

Stokes averaged 12.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.9 steals per contest across seven games as the U.S. coasted to the title.

This experience brought new on-court roles for Stokes, such as playing point guard, as well as the 3 and 4 positions.

“Getting used to being uncomfortable, that was the biggest thing,” Stokes said Thursday afternoon after tallying 24 points and eight rebounds in a win at Peach Jam — the season-ending Nike Elite Youth Basketball League event and recruiting showcase — with his Oakland Soldiers team.

That international World Cup trip also came with new life experiences for the 16-year-old Stokes, whether it was folding his large frame into a twin-sized bed, learning how to navigate the language barrier in Turkey or adapting to the different cuisine.

“Just learning the history (in Turkey). There were a couple things that we saw, museums with a bunch of different artifacts and stuff like that,” Stokes said. “Different foods and the culture behind it.”

Stateside, Stokes is about to go through another basketball transition: He’s changing high schools in California from Prolific Prep (Napa, California) to Notre Dame in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sherman Oaks.

And of course, the backdrop to all of this is the early stages of a high-level college basketball recruitment that includes the name-brand schools in the sport.

You can count the Kentucky Wildcats among that bunch.

UK first offered Stokes a scholarship last November. He was the first, and only, class of 2026 prospect to earn a UK scholarship offer while John Calipari led the Wildcats. Still, Stokes remains the only class of 2026 recruit to hold a Kentucky offer.

New Kentucky coach Mark Pope has picked up right where Calipari left off in terms of recruiting Stokes to Lexington.

“(Pope) is telling me how the brand is out there. Coach Mark is telling me it would be good to be home … Great coach,” Stokes said.

A little more than three months have passed since Pope became UK’s coach, and he and his coaching staff have already made their presence felt on the recruiting trail.

This has included multiple viewings of Stokes on the Nike EYBL circuit and an international trip to Turkey to watch Stokes, among other recruits, at the FIBA Under-17 World Cup.

“We both have a lot of energy,” Stokes said of himself and Pope. “He’s just always talking about how I can improve. Just telling me, ‘Oh yeah, you’re good at this, good at that.’ Telling me you can improve on this and those type of things.”

Kentucky is far from the only top college program laying early groundwork in Stokes’ recruitment.

Stokes listed Arkansas ( the new home for Calipari and several ex-UK assistants), Kansas, Southern California and UCLA among the schools he’s hearing from the most right now, in addition to Kentucky.

Hometown school Louisville is also in on Stokes, with the class of 2026 prospect specifying that U of L assistant coach Ronnie Hamilton is leading the charge for new head coach Pat Kelsey’s staff.

How much does a return to the commonwealth for college appeal to Stokes?

“Most of my family lives in Louisville … I mean, it’s home, it plays some type of part,” Stokes said.

There’s also been some early reclassification talk with Stokes, who has played up age levels on the grassroots circuit for several years and clearly has the skill to make the jump from the 2026 to 2025 recruiting groups, if he wants to.

For now at least, that isn’t something at the front of his mind.

“We’ve had a couple conversations about it, but that’s not really an option that I’ve been thinking about,” Stokes said about reclassifying.

Stokes added he has nothing set right now when it comes to school visits, but his planning on that front might begin following Peach Jam, which runs through Sunday.

Stokes also seems set on going the college basketball route following his high school career. He said that with the NBA’s G League Ignite program now shuttered, he can’t see himself going overseas instead of playing college ball.

What will be the big factors for Stokes when it’s time to make a college decision?

“Just someone who really appreciates me outside of the court, talks to me, asks me how I’m doing, not just talking about basketball all of the time,” Stokes said. “And just a home. Somewhere I feel comfortable.”

Tyran Stokes looks to grow his game following high school change

Once this summer of change settles, and Stokes begins at Notre Dame (a California basketball power in its own right), what is he looking forward to most about his new high school experience?

“Just to get 100% better,” Stokes said of why he changed high schools, noting the new training aspects that will come with the move, including the ability to work out with Los Angeles Lakers players.

“Just being at a regular high school, getting a regular high school experience, the ‘overrated’ chants, the cheerleaders. Everyone is just cheering against you. That’s something that doesn’t happen at the prep level … Just being out there, getting the high school experience for real.”

As far as player development goes, Stokes is focused on increasing his passing, off-the-dribble shooting and stepping into a leadership role.

He won’t have to look too far for inspiration on this front.

Stokes has spent the last year playing with AJ Dybantsa, the top-ranked basketball recruit in the 2025 class, at both Prolific Prep and with the Oakland Soldiers on the Nike EYBL circuit.

“He’s extremely explosive. He’s very hard to stop getting to the paint,” Ryan Bernardi, who coached Stokes at Prolific Prep, told the Herald-Leader earlier this year. “His jump shot has really taken major strides. He’s a plus defender.”

The Dybantsa-Stokes duo will now be going their separate ways, though: Dybantsa, also a top Kentucky basketball target, will be playing his final high school season at Utah Prep in Hurricane, Utah.

Stokes can look to both Dybantsa and Koa Peat — a five-star power forward in the class of 2025 who has already won three gold medals with USA Basketball — as examples of how to lead in all aspects, on and off the floor.

“We both have different types of games, we both help each other well,” Stokes said of sharing the floor with Dybantsa over the past year.

“We give each other the ball … Just being there for each other. When he’s down, helping him up. If I’m down, he’s helping me up.”

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