2026 Kentucky Mr. Basketball finalists announced. See all 16 players
Madison Central’s Jake Feldhaus earned recognition as one of Kentucky boys high school basketball’s top seniors Friday as 11th Region player of the year and one of 16 finalists for the sport’s highest individual honor, Kentucky Mr. Basketball.
Feldhaus, a 6-foot-8 forward for the No. 4 ranked Indians, has averaged 20.8 points and 13.2 rebounds per game in emerging as one of the frontrunners for the statewide honor.
Notably absent from Friday’s list of finalists, determined by a Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches vote, are Bryan Station’s Amari Owens and Frederick Douglass’ DeMarcus Surratt, who ranked among the Herald-Leader’s preseason top 10 players based on a statewide survey of coaches.
Owens, a 6-1 point guard and Eastern Kentucky commit, recently took over as the all-time leading scorer in Lexington boys high school basketball history during the Defenders’ 77-62 win over Grant County on Tuesday. His total through Tuesday was 2,534 points, more than at least five Mr. Basketballs from Lexington.
Feldhaus, Owens and Surratt, a 6-3 Bellarmine commit, made for a crowded field of 11th Region hopefuls and, this year, the KABC announced only one finalist per region on the boys’ side, which also left out players like Western Kentucky commit Cole Edelen of Ballard in the 7th Region.
The boys and girls region players of the year were announced Friday morning by the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation via its social media channels, including Facebook.
Other favorites to contend with Feldhaus for Mr. Basketball include North Laurel’s Reece Davidson, a Liberty commit, Boyd County’s Jacob Spurlock, a Youngstown State commit, and St. Xavier’s Jeremiah Jackson, a Southern Illinois commit.
In conjunction with the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches, the KLEF conducted a single survey of coaches for the region player of the year awards, which also serve as its nomination list for Mr. and Miss Basketball. This is the first year the KLEF did not offer an additional survey for coaches and media to submit other possible nominees.
A separate vote that includes coaches and media will be conducted over the next several days for the Mr. and Miss Basketball awards, which have been given exclusively to seniors since their inception.
Those awards and other honors will be presented at the annual Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony on March 22 at the Marriott Lexington Griffin Gate.
2026 Mr. Basketball finalists
The 2026 KABC boys region players of the year with school, height, position, this season’s points per game through Thursday and college choice. The awards are reserved for seniors.
1st Region: Miles Woodfork, McCracken County, 6-0 guard, 24.2 points (undecided).
2nd Region: Bray Kirk, Lyon County, 6-3 guard, 21.3 points (undecided).
3rd Region: Jonathan Moss, Daviess County, 6-0 guard, 24.2 points (undecided).
4th Region: Jaxson Mason, Clinton County, 6-5 guard, 16.8 points (undecided).
5th Region: Jaylin Craine, Caverna, 6-1 guard, 16.7 points (undecided).
6th Region: Dayvone Harrison, Jeffersontown, 5-11 guard, 16.1 points (undecided).
7th Region: Jeremiah Jackson, St. Xavier, 6-4 guard, 17.7 points (Southern Illinois).
8th Region: Andrew Sparrow, Anderson County, 6-5 forward, 18.8 points (undecided).
9th Region: Athens McGillis, Covington Catholic , 5-11 guard, 22.8 points (Nova Southeastern).
10th Region: Malachi Ashford, George Rogers Clark, 5-10 guard, 13.4 points (undecided).
11th Region: Jake Feldhaus, Madison Central, 6-8 forward 20.8 points, 13.2 rebounds (Belmont).
12th Region: Kendall Phillips, Wayne County, 6-5 guard, 20.1 points (undecided)
13th Region: Reece Davidson, North Laurel, 6-8 forward, 19.9 points (Liberty)
14th Region: Seth Caudill, Hazard, 6-4 guard, 21 points (undecided).
15th Region: Brady Johnson, Shelby Valley, 6-0 guard, 19.9 points (undecided).
16th Region: Jacob Spurlock, Boyd County, 6-4 guard, 28.2 points (Youngstown State).
