National experts are noticing this Kentucky high school basketball star
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Marshall County’s Matthew Langhi is one of the best boys basketball players in Kentucky.
- Langhi is a junior who is listed as a shooting guard and small forward for the Marshals.
- Langhi is ranked as a three-star recruit in the class of 2027 by the 247Sports Composite.
In recent years, Kentucky has been a hotbed of high school boys basketball talent.
Recent graduating classes have seen Reed Sheppard (North Laurel), Trent Noah (Harlan County), Travis Perry (Lyon County), Armelo Boone (Frederick Douglass and Woodford County) and Malachi Moreno (Great Crossing) all become prep basketball stars in the commonwealth.
These players not only established themselves as high school standouts in Kentucky, but they also chose to stay in the state to finish their distinguished prep careers.
Looking ahead, there’s a good chance that Kentucky’s next notable high school star hails from the far western reaches of the commonwealth.
Marshall County’s Matthew Langhi —a 6-foot-6 junior shooting guard and small forward — is the only player from a Kentucky high school who’s currently ranked among the best players in the nation from the class of 2027. Langhi is ranked by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 173 overall recruit in the high school junior class.
“From early on, you could tell that he was something special,” Marshall County head coach Sawyer Donohoo told the Herald-Leader. “... He was big as a younger kid, but he had really good perimeter skill and guard skill. He was much bigger than everybody but was still bringing the ball down the floor. You could tell, just skill set wise, he was going to be something special. He’s continued to work on his game, polish his game since then, and it’s led to a lot of success for him.”
Langhi, who is a three-star prospect according to the 247Sports Composite, may be a familiar name to longtime followers of this state’s high school hoops scene. He’s the son of Dan Langhi, who was a star player at Marshall County in the mid 1990s.
The elder Langhi, a 6-foot-11 forward, was a four-year college player at Vanderbilt and earned co-SEC Player of the Year honors as a senior after averaging 22.1 points per game during the 1999-2000 season. Dan was a second-round selection in the 2000 NBA draft and played 133 games across four NBA seasons.
Donohoo is well versed in the Langhi family legacy. While Donohoo has only been the head coach of the Marshall County boys program since 2022, he previously played and was an assistant coach for the Marshals.
“It’s been huge. That can’t be overstated,” Donohoo said of the impact Dan has had on Matthew’s burgeoning basketball career. “... (Dan) does a really good job of balancing being tough on (Matthew) because he’s been there and knows what the expectations are. He’s trying to — just like all of us would be as parents, you’re trying to help your son maybe with some of the pitfalls that got you at that age.”
While the younger Langhi has a ways to go to match his father’s exploits on the basketball court, the building blocks are in place.
On the heels of a productive and confidence-building summer playing for Team Mookie Betts on the Nike travel circuit, Langhi has leveled up even further for Marshall County this season.
“Really can score at any level,” Donohoo said of Langhi. “He can score inside. He’s very dangerous off the dribble. He’s got a very good, probably the best, mid-range game I’ve seen in a while, as far as just pull-up jumpers. He’s another guy that can get the rebound and just go.”
Langhi — who didn’t play in Marshall County’s most recent game, a Tuesday night overtime win at Mayfield — is averaging 27.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest for the Marshals, who are 17-6 this season and near the top of the 1st Region standings.
“Most of our offense goes through him. We’re looking to find him, give him a touch per possession offensively,” Donohoo said. “On the defensive end, he’s a kid that we kind of challenged him before this season that he had to do more and rebound better and things like that. And he stepped up to the plate.”
Langhi’s individual growth as a player has followed a familiar pattern. As a freshman and sophomore at Marshall County, Langhi wasn’t always at the top of the opposing team’s scouting report. That made it easier for him to find space on the floor.
That’s no longer the case.
“This year, he’s kind of the focus for everybody,” Donohoo said. “So he’s had to work on coming off of screens and not just standing, being more assertive on the offensive end. Again, with the ball in his hands, he is very difficult to guard.”
Langhi is starting to get significant individual recognition. Just a few days ago, he reported his first Division I scholarship offer from Indiana State. Back in September, Langhi took a visit to Illinois.
Langhi has scored 1,637 points in his prep career so far and has already played in the Sweet 16 state tournament. He was a freshman on the 2023-24 Marshall County team, which was the most recent Marshals squad to win the 1st Region Tournament and advance to play at Rupp Arena.
If all goes to plan for Marshall County in the ensuing weeks, Langhi could be a major reason why his school returns to the Sweet 16 stage for what would be the eighth time overall. That accomplishment would only bolster his profile as the top class of 2027 recruit from a Kentucky high school.
“He’s still kind of figuring out his athleticism,” Donohoo said. “... I don’t think he realizes just how athletic he is at times.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
