15 Reed Sheppard

Reed Sheppard was born June 24, 2004, in London, Kentucky, into one of the Commonwealth’s best-known basketball families. The son of former Wildcats Jeff and Stacey Sheppard, he became a star at North Laurel High School, finishing his career with 3,727 points. Sheppard averaged 22.5 points, 8.5 assists and 8.4 rebounds as a senior, earned 2022 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year honors, was named Kentucky Mr. Basketball in 2023 and played in the McDonald’s All-American Game. Rated among the nation’s top prospects, he chose Kentucky over Indiana and Louisville.

Wearing the same No. 15 his father had worn at Kentucky, Sheppard quickly became one of the most popular Wildcats of the 2023–24 season. Although he started only five games, his shooting, defensive instincts and unselfish play made him indispensable. He was named SEC Freshman of the Year, selected to the All-SEC Second Team and honored as national freshman of the year by both the USBWA and NABC—the first Kentucky player to receive the NABC award. Sheppard led the nation by making 52.1 percent of his three-point attempts and became only the second Wildcat to record at least 80 steals in a season.

Sheppard’s defining Kentucky moment came at Mississippi State on February 27, 2024. He scored a career-high 32 points, including 23 after halftime, and sank a running jumper with less than a second remaining to give the Wildcats a 91–89 road victory. He later scored 27 points as Kentucky defeated fourth-ranked Tennessee, 85–81, in Knoxville to close the regular season. Those performances strengthened his reputation as a poised and fearless player in the game’s biggest moments.

After one season at Kentucky, Sheppard entered the 2024 NBA Draft and was selected third overall by the Houston Rockets. The lifelong Kentucky native and second-generation Wildcat began his professional career with Houston, where he continued to wear No. 15.