Introduction
Reed Sheppard (born June 24, 2004) is an American college basketball player for the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He was a consensus four-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2023 class.
Early life and high school career
Sheppard grew up in London, Kentucky and attended North Laurel High School. He became North Laurel's starting shooting guard as a freshman and averaged 20.6 points per game. Sheppard led the state of Kentucky in scoring during his sophomore season after averaging 30.1 points per game in 28 games played. He was named the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior after averaging 25.5 points, 7.6 assists, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.4 steals per game. Sheppard was selected to play in the 2023 McDonald's All-American Boys Game during his senior year. He was named Kentucky Mr. Basketball after averaging 22.5 points, 8.5 assists, and 8.4 rebounds per game. Sheppard finished his high school career with 3,727 points, 1,214 assists, and 1,050 rebounds.
Recruiting
Sheppard was considered a top-50 prospect in the 2023 class. On November 20, 2021, he committed to playing college basketball for Kentucky over offers from Louisville and Virginia.
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reed Sheppard SG |
London, KY | North Laurel (KY) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 20, 2021 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 89 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 28 247Sports: 79 ESPN: 23 | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
Sheppard enrolled at the University of Kentucky in June 2023, shortly after graduating from high school. He was assigned jersey number 15, his father's number. During the summer before his freshman year Sheppard played for the Wildcats in the GLOBL JAM tournament in Canada and averaged 8.5 points, 5.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game over four games as the team went undefeated and won the tournament.
Personal life
Sheppard's father, Jeff Sheppard, played college basketball at Kentucky and was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1998 NCAA tournament and later played in the National Basketball Association for the Atlanta Hawks. His mother, the former Stacey Reed, also played basketball at Kentucky and scored over 1,400 career points. Sheppard's older sister, Madison, played college basketball at Campbellsville University.