Sweet Sixteen features intriguing college basketball recruits. Here are five to watch.

There’s always a certain level of individual star power to the Kentucky Sweet Sixteen, but this year’s boys’ basketball state tournament should take things up a notch.

This week’s bracket will feature three nationally ranked recruits, two of whom have already committed to the state’s two marquee college programs, giving the general fans who flock to Rupp Arena this time of year a little something extra to watch over the next few days.

Here’s a look at some highly touted prospects to keep an eye on as the week unfolds.

Reed Sheppard (North Laurel)

Few basketball fans around central Kentucky will need an introduction to Reed Sheppard, who is the son of two UK greats and announced his own college commitment to the Wildcats before this season began.

Sheppard — a 6-foot-3 combo guard — is also one of the highest-rated in-state recruits in recent memory. Rivals.com and 247Sports both rank the high school junior as the No. 17 overall prospect in the class of 2023, giving him five-star status in national recruiting circles.

After leading the state in scoring last season, Sheppard — whose parents are Jeff Sheppard and Stacey Reed Sheppard — is averaging 25.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while often putting up big numbers elsewhere in the box score. He’s shooting 90.2 percent from the free-throw line — second in the state — and has made 38.5 percent of his threes this season.

Sweet Sixteen opener: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday vs. Pikeville

Kaleb Glenn (Male)

The 2023 class is a big one for in-state recruits, and Male forward Kaleb Glenn would be the state’s top-ranked national prospect in just about any other cycle. The versatile, 6-6 junior is ranked as high as No. 36 in that 2023 class (by Rivals.com), and he just keeps getting better after being identified as a potential national recruit at an early age.

Glenn has already committed to hometown Louisville, and he’s expected to keep that pledge despite the coaching situation within the Cardinals’ program. He is averaging 21.9 points and 12.7 rebounds per game and shooting 64.9 percent from the field heading into this week. His rebounding average is fifth-best in the state, and he’s made 35 three-pointers this season — shooting 36.1 percent from deep — yet another addition to his growing game.

Sweet Sixteen opener: 11 a.m. Thursday vs. Warren Central

Travis Perry (Lyon County)

Travis Perry is still only a sophomore, but he’s already made his mark on the Kentucky high school basketball record books. He averaged 20.6 points per game for Lyon County as a seventh-grader and last March became the fastest player in state history to record 2,000 career points.

The 6-2 sophomore averaged 27.7 points per game this season — eighth in the state and tops among all players at this Sweet Sixteen — and he made 111 three-pointers (shooting at a 37.8-percent clip).

Rivals.com ranks Perry as the No. 66 overall player in the 2024 class, and college coaches are already paying attention. Lyon County Coach Ryan Perry told the Herald-Leader that his son has scholarship offers from Mississippi, Creighton and New Orleans, and he’s taken college visits in the past six months to Belmont, Cincinnati, Murray State, Ole Miss and Western Kentucky. He already has summer plans to visit Iowa, Purdue and Virginia, and all three of those schools — as well as several others — have been actively recruiting him.

Perry will play this summer on the highest-level of the Adidas travel circuit.

Sweet Sixteen opener: 1:30 p.m. Thursday vs. John Hardin

Colin Porter (Ashland Blazer)

A staple for Ashland throughout his high school career, Colin Porter helped lead the Tomcats to a 33-0 record as a freshman point guard, missing out on the state tournament that year when the Sweet Sixteen was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ashland won the region again last season, with Porter and the Tomcats making it to the state semifinals. They’re back on the big stage this year in what will be Porter’s final run with the program.

The 5-11 prospect committed to Liberty University last fall and decided earlier this year to reclassify to 2022 and jump to college for next season. He picked the Flames over scholarship offers from Western Kentucky, Marshall, Morehead State and several other programs.

Porter is averaging 17.4 points per game and shooting 38.1 percent from three-point range and 85.7 percent on free throws in his final season of high school basketball. (He’ll play against another highly touted recruit to watch, Miami (Ohio) signee Mitchell Rylee, in the first round of the state tournament).

Sweet Sixteen opener: 8:30 p.m. Thursday vs. Covington Catholic

Dallas Roberts (North Oldham)

There’s a number of promising young players who could be included on this list, but North Oldham point guard Dallas Roberts should be an intriguing prospect to watch over the next few months.

As of now, the 6-1 junior point guard holds a scholarship offer from Georgetown College, with Bellarmine, Belmont, Manhattan and Southern Illinois all sending coaches to watch him play during the high school season. A Manhattan offer could come soon. Former UK star Scott Padgett is his primary recruiter there (and fellow former Wildcat Steve Masiello is the head coach).

Roberts will play with Griffin Elite on the Under Armour Rise circuit this spring, and he should have a handful of Division 1 scholarship offers by the summer. He’s averaging 17.5 points per game this high school season and is always a threat to fill up the assist line in the box score.

Sweet Sixteen opener: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday vs. Muhlenberg County

This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 7:00 AM.

Ben Roberts

Lexington Herald-Leader

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Ben Roberts is the University of Kentucky men’s basketball beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He has previously specialized in UK basketball recruiting coverage and created and maintained the Next Cats blog. He is a Franklin County native and first joined the Herald-Leader in 2006. Support my work with a digital subscription