If you listen closely to the voices coming out of the Joe Craft Center and the Craft Football Training Facility, you start to hear a harmonious sound. It is the sound of discipline.
We are living in the
“Wild West” era of college athletics. NIL is ruining the sport, according to a lot of people. The transfer portal has turned roster management into speed dating. NIL has turned recruiting into a bidding war. Agents are “shopping” players who are currently on other teams. The temptation for coaches to panic, cut corners, or abandon their principles has never been higher.
But at the University of Kentucky, two of the most important leaders on campus, Will Stein and Mark Pope, are sending the exact same message: We aren’t playing that game.
Stein: The integrity of the rules
For Will Stein, the chaos comes in the form of “gray areas.” It is the world of tampering, where agents call coaches with lists of players who haven’t even entered the portal yet. It is a world where peers like Pete Golding are accused of texting players in the middle of class.
Stein acknowledges the temptation to join the mud fight. “Obviously, it can be tempting to skirt those rules when it feels like the NCAA is doing nothing to enforce them,” Stein admitted to Outkick. “Agents have no problem doing whatever it takes to make the most for their client.”
But Stein’s response to the chaos is stark in its simplicity. “You can’t text or call guys. You can’t do that, so don’t do it,” he said. “It’s really simple. It’s not that hard. I don’t understand why it can be so difficult for coaches.” In a sport where everyone is looking for a shortcut, Stein is doubling down on doing things the right way. It’s a bold stance that demands patience from the fanbase, but ensures the foundation is rot-free.
Pope: The discipline of “fit”
Across the way, Mark Pope is fighting a different battle: The pressure of perception. With zero commits in the 2026 class and the portal looming, the noise around Kentucky basketball is deafening.
Pope refuses to blink. “Fit matters so much,” Pope said. “I am excited about recruiting for next year… We are at play with some players that fit us that could be really special here.”
Just like Stein refuses to cheat to get a player, Pope is now refusing to compromise his system to get a recruit. He did that last year, and the results have been mixed. Moving back to getting guys who fit his system and his mentality will bring better results, or so he is betting.
He is willing to endure the uncomfortable silence of a quiet recruiting period because he trusts his evaluation process. “We are in the process of recruiting our own players and recruiting players that are still available, and then this portal will be really important to us,” Pope noted.
The Kentucky way
It is a gamble; you may not like it. Some schools are definitely crossing the line, and Kentucky will miss out on guys because of it.
Stein is betting that integrity still matters in a lawless sport. Pope is betting that “fit” beats “stars” in a talent-obsessed industry. But in a world of desperation, there is something reassuring about two coaches who are deciding to stick to their guns. Kentucky isn’t trying to out-cheat the cheaters or out-spend the panic buyers. They are building their programs on their own terms now.
And if they win, they’ll win knowing they didn’t sell their soul to do it.
Drew Holbrook has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time, he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion
