Mark Pope is back at Keeneland -- this time with Zoom Diallo

It’s become a staple of his portal recruiting pitches, and now, trips to Keeneland with Kentucky’s top transfer targets are back with Mark Pope. First up? Washington guard Zoom Diallo, who arrived for his visit to Lexington on Friday.

Pope and the coaching staff started the trip, scheduled through Saturday, with lunch at Carson’s — thanks to a KSR listener for snapping a picture and keeping us in the loop. Any guesses on the 6-4 point guard’s order?

KSR listener noted a nice Carson’s lunch with Pope and Zoom pic.twitter.com/UiJgb2gPTI
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) April 10, 2026

From there, they made their way to Keeneland to check out the ponies on a perfect spring day in Lexington — sunny and 75 degrees.

By the looks of things, he seems to be thoroughly enjoying his time checking out one of the Bluegrass State’s finest venues, snapping pictures and soaking in the good weather and horses.

Mark Pope has Zoom Diallo out at Keeneland on his recruiting visit. 🏇🏀

Diallo is a 6’4” sophomore guard from Washington.

(📸: @benkudla) pic.twitter.com/PnDg9mKvoj
— Lyndsey Gough (@LGonTV) April 10, 2026

Year one was a massive success at Keeneland with Pope using the Spring Meet to reel in Amari Williams — the MVP of his debut roster with the Wildcats. It was his first portal commitment of his time at Kentucky.

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Year two did not go so well, Pope infamously bringing Sam Houston State transfer Lamar Wilkerson to see the races and check out the Winner’s Circle, only for the sharpshooter to pivot toward a commitment to Indiana.

Lamar Wilkerson and Mark Pope at Keeneland – Photo by Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

That one stung and it was a player the Wildcats could have desperately used this past season, but Pope has a real chance to split the tie here with a big-time win for Diallo. He is one of Kentucky’s top priorities in this first portal wave, getting the staff’s first in-person meeting once the dead period ended, starting on Friday.

Diallo ranks as the 33rd-best overall player and ninth-best point guard to enter the transfer portal this offseason, per On3. He appeared in all 33 of Washington’s games in the 2025-26 season with 29 starts, averaging 15.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 31.5 percent from three-point range.

Can Pope get it done?

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