Scouting Kentucky's top-ranked recruiting class
With the commitment of five-star guard DJ Wagner on Monday, John Calipari's 2023 recruiting class ranked atop the Rivals.com Team Recruiting Rankings. This is familiar territory for Kentucky during Calipari’s tenure and would be his seventh No. 1 class in Lexington if the ranking holds through the late period.
Rivals.com’s Travis Graf breaks down the Wildcats' recruiting class and discusses all of Kentucky’s five-star signees.
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Early Signing Period: Roundtable | Programs that still have work to do
2023 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2024 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team
2025 Rankings: Top 40
Transfer Portal: Latest news
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OVERVIEW
In what is considered by many to be somewhat of a down recruiting class, Calipari pieced together a 2023 group that makes a lot of sense on paper. His best teams have always had good guard play, and he landed two of the the premiere options in the rising senior class in the form of Wagner and Robert Dillingham.
Calipari’s best teams also have elite rim protection, and that’s exactly what Aaron Bradshaw provides. Justin Edwards, the highest-ranked of the bunch, is one of the best wing prospects that Calipari has landed during his tenure at Kentucky.
And how nice is it for the Wildcats that the forgotten man in the class happens to be another five-star, Reed Sheppard, who is a local player that can score the ball and defend?
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Edwards is a rangy wing that can score from multiple levels and has a very projectable frame. At 6-foot-7, he’s one of the few wings in this class that can create for themselves off of the bounce. Edwards is a good athlete and has a shot that should translate to the next level, both from the mid-range and from the outside.
The most under-appreciated part of his game, however, is his defense. He’s quick enough and long enough to guard multiple positions, and does a very good job of jumping passing lanes for steals and deflections
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Wagner is a scoring guard that is at his best when getting downhill toward the basket. He’s a gritty competitor that will always do whatever it takes for his team to win. Wagner does a good job of getting into the teeth of the defense and finishing with a floater or pull-up jumper, and always gets to his spots efficiently.
The five-star guard has the ability to play both on and off the ball at the next level and that’s a major key when being paired with Dillingham. Wagner is an opportunistic defender with active hands and a knack for reading passing lanes.
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There might not be a player at the high school level with more flair and flashiness than Dillingham. He’s very quick and very electric with the ball in his hands, and is the best space creator in the class.
Dillingham has a very advanced handle and shiftiness, always keeping the defender off balance, maneuvering to different spots on the floor in a variety of ways. He needs massive muscle gains before he steps foot on a college campus, but he combats his lack of strength with an array of finishing moves in traffic.
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Bradshaw is the most interesting prospect in Kentucky’s 2023 class. At 7-foot, the five-star big man moves really well at both ends of the court. He’s an elite rim protector that can guard pick and rolls at a high level and does a good job in different defensive coverages.
Offensively, he scores effectively from the dunker spot and has soft touch around the basket. He’s developing a more consistent jump shot and extending his range, and he showed that he can knock down 15-foot jumpers at a consistent clip.
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Sheppard gets the least amount of publicity of Kentucky's signees and commits, playing at a small school in Kentucky, but he’s delivered on the big stage both at the 3SSB level and in showcases over the last couple of years. He’s a high-IQ guard that can play both on or off of the ball, playing whatever role his team needs.
Not only can Sheppard score, but he is a high-level facilitator as well. Defensively, he’s very opportunistic and has great instincts both on and off of the ball.