The Sweet 16 fields are set. Which top college basketball recruits will be playing in Rupp?
The Sweet 16 fields are set.
Complete 16-team brackets have been finalized for both the Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 and the UK HealthCare Boys’ Sweet 16 state basketball tournaments at Rupp Arena.
The girls’ tournament begins Wednesday and runs through Saturday, while the boys’ edition begins March 15 and runs through March 18.
Not only will each tournament bring together the best high school basketball teams in Kentucky to determine a state champion at historic Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington, but a plethora of top-end college basketball recruiting talent will also be on display.
Here’s a look (in alphabetical order) at some of the top college basketball recruits that will be gracing the Rupp Arena hardwood in the coming days:
Top Girls’ Sweet 16 college basketball recruits
▪ Emma Barnett: A 6-foot-2 senior forward, Barnett averages 10.4 points per game for 6th Region champion Mercy. Barnett is an Ohio signee.
▪ Reagan Bender: A 5-10 junior guard, Bender averages nearly 15 points per game for 7th Region champion and perennial state title contender Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart is the two-time defending state champion. Bender’s list of scholarship offers includes Bellarmine, East Tennessee State and Murray State.
▪ Brianna Byars: A 5-11 senior forward, Byars is the second-leading scorer for 10th Region champion Clark County with 14.5 points per game. Byars is a Cincinnati signee, although Cincinnati recently announced that a head coaching change will occur. Byars is a candidate to win Kentucky Miss Basketball.
▪ Ciara Byars: A 6-1 sophomore guard and the younger sister of Brianna, Ciara is the leading scorer for 10th Region champion Clark County with 18.2 points per game. Ciara’s list of scholarship offers includes Cincinnati, Eastern Kentucky, Marshall and Northern Kentucky.
▪ Kensley Feltner: A 5-9 senior forward, Feltner is the fourth all-time leading scorer in Kentucky girls’ high school basketball history. Feltner averages 29.4 points per game for 15th Region champion Lawrence County. Feltner is a Belmont signee and a candidate to win Kentucky Miss Basketball.
▪ ZaKiyah Johnson: A 5-11 sophomore guard, Johnson is considered the best girls’ high school basketball player currently in the state of Kentucky. Johnson has nearly 40 NCAA Division I scholarship offers to her name, including from traditional women’s college basketball powers South Carolina and UConn. Johnson is ranked as the No. 2 player overall in the class of 2025 by ESPN. Johnson leads 7th Region champion Sacred Heart in scoring with 22.3 points per game. Sacred Heart is the two-time defending state champion.
▪ Whitney Lind: A 6-2 senior forward, Lind leads 9th Region champion Cooper in scoring with 16.7 points per game. Lind is a Lehigh signee and also a candidate to win Kentucky Miss Basketball.
▪ Leah Macy: A 6-2 sophomore forward, Macy has nearly 30 college scholarship offers to her name, including high-major schools like Florida State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Mississippi State and Tennessee. Macy averages 24.5 points per game for 6th Region champion Mercy. In ESPN’s class of 2025 recruiting rankings, Macy is listed as the No. 17 player in the nation and a four-star recruit.
▪ Angelina Pelayo: A 6-2 junior center, Pelayo averages 11.6 points per game for 7th Region champion Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart is the two-time defending state champion. Pelayo’s list of scholarship offers includes Bellarmine, Charlotte and Xavier.
▪ Destiny Thomas: A 5-10 senior forward from 1st Region champion McCracken County, Thomas leads the Mustangs in scoring with 18.4 points per game. Thomas is a Murray State signee and a candidate to win Kentucky Miss Basketball.
▪ Saniyah Shelton: A 5-11 senior guard, Shelton is the third-leading scorer for 4th Region champion Bowling Green with a per-game average of 10.1 points. Shelton is an Eastern Kentucky signee.
▪ Meadow Tisdale: A 5-11 senior forward from 4th Region champion Bowling Green, Tisdale leads the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game. Tisdale is a Northern Kentucky signee and is also a candidate to win Kentucky Miss Basketball.
Top Boys’ Sweet 16 college basketball recruits
▪ Zander Carter: A 6-6 sophomore combo guard from 16th Region champion Ashland Blazer, Carter has reported Division I scholarship offers from Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech. Carter has taken unofficial visits to Marshall and Ohio State.
▪ Cole Edelen: A 6-2 freshman point guard from 7th Region champion Male, Edelen has already reported a pair of Division I scholarship offers from Stony Brook and Jacksonville State. Edelen also played for Male as an eighth-grader last season.
▪ Ayden Evans: A 6-8 junior center from 5th Region champion Elizabethtown, Evans is ranked by the 247Sports Composite as a four-star recruit who is the No. 121 player in the 2024 recruiting class. Among the schools that Evans has reported scholarship offers from are Seton Hall, Texas A&M and West Virginia.
▪ Jasper Johnson: A 6-2 sophomore combo guard from 8th Region champion Woodford County, Johnson is ranked as the No. 26 player in the 2025 recruiting class by the 247Sports Composite.
Johnson recorded a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double to help lead Woodford County to its first region title since 1986.
Johnson’s list of scholarship offers includes Cincinnati, Louisville, Texas A&M and Xavier.
▪ Taylen Kinney: A 6-foot freshman point guard from 9th Region champion Newport, Kinney has reported Division I scholarship offers from Charleston and Texas A&M, among other schools.
▪ John McCrear: A 6-9 senior power forward from 8th Region champion Woodford County, McCrear is a Murray State signee. McCrear is the nephew of UK football associate head coach Vince Marrow.
▪ Jerone Morton: A 6-4 senior guard from 10th Region champion George Rogers Clark, Morton was a star presence on last year’s Clark County team that won the state championship. Morton was named the MVP of the 2022 Sweet 16.
Morton and Clark County are back at Rupp Arena again this season to try and defend their state championship.
Morton is a Morehead State signee and also a candidate for Kentucky Mr. Basketball.
▪ Travis Perry: A 6-2 junior point guard from 2nd Region champion Lyon County, Perry is poised to make history during the Sweet 16.
Perry is only 20 points shy of matching the state’s all-time scoring mark by a boys’ high school basketball player.
Perry’s college basketball recruitment has also taken off during his junior season: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Purdue, Vanderbilt and Virginia are among the schools most involved in Perry’s recruitment.
Earlier this season, Perry set a Lyon County single-game record by scoring 61 points in a game, a feat he accomplished with UK head coach John Calipari watching in person.
▪ Reed Sheppard: A 6-3 senior combo guard from 13th Region champion North Laurel, Sheppard is the 13th Region Player of the Year and a candidate for Kentucky Mr. Basketball.
Sheppard was averaging more than 20 points per game for North Laurel as of late February.
Sheppard is a Kentucky signee and was honored this year as a McDonald’s All-American. He is the first boys’ player from a Kentucky high school to be named a McDonald’s All-American since 2011.
▪ Austin Sperry: A 6-4 sophomore point guard from 14th Region champion Breathitt County, Sperry has reported Division I scholarship offers from Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State and Ohio, among others. Sperry has also reported a scholarship offer to play football at EKU.
▪ James Turner: A 6-7 freshman power forward from 9th Region champion Newport, Turner has reported Division I scholarship offers from Charleston and Stony Brook, among other schools.
▪ Kade Unseld: A 6-5 junior wing from 4th Region champion Warren Central, Unseld has reported Division I scholarship offers from Bellarmine, Southeast Missouri State and Ohio.
The field is set for the 2023 Boys’ Sweet 16. View the bracket and the complete schedule.
The field is set for the 2023 Girls’ Sweet 16. View the bracket and the complete schedule.
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