Reed Sheppard is the son of Jeff and Stacey Sheppard, who were both Kentucky basketball players in the 1990s. Sheppard grew up in London, Kentucky and attended North Laurel High School.[1] He became North Laurel's starting shooting guard as a freshman and averaged 20.6 points per game.[2] Sheppard led the state of Kentucky in scoring during his sophomore season after averaging 30.1 points per game in 28 games played.[3] 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.[4] Sheppard was selected to play in the 2023 McDonald's All-American Boys Game during his senior year.[5] He was named Kentucky Mr. Basketball after averaging 22.5 points, 8.5 assists and 8.4 rebounds per game.[6] Sheppard finished his high school career with 3,727 points, 1,214 assists and 1,050 rebounds.[7]
Recruiting
Sheppard was considered a top-50 prospect in the 2023 class.[8][9] On November 20, 2021, he committed to playing college basketball for Kentucky over offers from Louisville and Virginia.[10][11]
Sheppard enrolled at the University of Kentucky in June 2023, shortly after graduating from high school.[12] He was assigned jersey number 15, his father's number.[13] 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.[14]
^The Freshman of the Year award is one of two awards presented to the top player in his first season of SEC play. Associated Press writers who cover SEC men's basketball vote on a Newcomer of the Year award, open to any player in his first season of SEC play regardless of academic classification. The AP award went to Dalton Knecht, a fifth-year senior who transferred from Northern Colorado to Tennessee after the 2022–23 season and was named SEC Player of the Year by both the coaches and the AP.[15][16]