0 Ashton Hagans

Ashton Hagans was born on July 8 in Cartersville, Georgia. A point guard, he graduated from Newton High School after reclassifying into the 2018 recruiting class and enrolling at Kentucky a year early. One of the nation’s top point guard prospects, Hagans earned both Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year and Mr. Georgia Basketball honors after averaging 20.2 points, 10.7 assists, 7.6 rebounds and 3.6 steals as a senior while leading Newton to the Class 7A state semifinals. He also helped lead Newton to two regional championships and was a consensus top-20 national recruit.

Hagans quickly established himself as one of college basketball’s premier defensive guards during his two seasons at Kentucky. As a freshman in 2018-19, he was named Southeastern Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year, earned SEC All-Defensive Team honors, was selected to the Kyle Macy Freshman All-America Team and the Lefty Driesell Defensive All-America Team, and was a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist. He led the Wildcats in assists and steals, tying the school record with eight steals against North Carolina while becoming the first Kentucky player to record at least three steals in seven consecutive games.

Returning as Kentucky’s floor general in 2019-20, Hagans expanded his offensive game while remaining one of the nation’s elite defenders. He averaged career highs of 11.5 points and 6.4 assists per game, led the SEC in assists, was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team for a second consecutive season, and finished as one of four finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award. His 191 assists rank among the best single-season totals in school history, and he closed his Kentucky career after helping lead the Wildcats to a 25-6 record before declaring for the 2020 NBA Draft.