Historically, the state of Kentucky hasn’t produced a ton of elite college basketball and NBA talent, but over these last few years, that has changed. Reed Sheppard was just a star for the Wildcats and the number three pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Now, Travis Perry and Trent Noah are on Kentucky’s roster, and they are both elite players from the Bluegrass State.
In the 2025 class, Kentucky has already landed in-state center Malachi Moreno, who is the #1 center in the class. Five-star guard Jasper Johnson is from Woodford County, although he plays for Overtime Elite now. Johnson is one of the best players in the 2025 class. He will be committing on September 5th, and it feels like he will pick the Wildcats unless something drastic happens.
There are even some great players in the 2026 class from Kentucky. Coach Pope needs to keep doing an excellent job of landing these in-state players, and if he secures Johnson, he will have done that in both the 2024 and 2025 classes.
If Johnson does pick Kentucky on September 5th, there is a chance that with Perry, Noah, Moreno, and Johnson, the Wildcats have four in-state players in the rotation.
If Kentucky can start producing more consistent high school basketball talent, it will be huge for Coach Pope and the Kentucky basketball program.
It would be really exciting for Kentucky fans to see a bunch of homegrown players on the floor at one time, and during the 2025-26 season, that will be a real possibility.
