Shaedon Sharpe signs with UK; now ranked in the Class of 2021

The Kentucky Wildcats have officially signed the top-ranked high school basketball recruit...sort of.

Shaedon Sharpe, previously ranked as the consensus top recruit in the 2022 class, has signed his National Letter of Intent.

Right after the signing, UK head coach John Calipari released a brief statement on Twitter, saying that Sharpe, “has the ability to be one of those guys who can make a special impact.”

Calipari won’t have to wait much longer to coach Sharpe, as the Canadian product is reclassifying into 2021 and will enroll at UK for the second semester.

Now that Sharpe is considered a 2021 recruit, 247 Sports has placed him at the No. 3 spot for that class, trailing only Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero.

The addition of Sharpe also bumped UK’s 2021 class to No. 2 overall, trailing only Duke. It was previously No. 7, which means Calipari’s streak of top-two recruiting classes has extended to 13 years, according to Chris Fisher.

However, UK’s 2022 class now drops from No. 1 to No. 8, as it now only features Cason Wallace, Chris Livingston and Skyy Clark. And unless something changes, there don’t appear to be any more 2022 recruits UK is in the mix for, as it appears Calipari will fill out next year’s roster with college transfers.

By having Sharpe join the 2021 class, it means UK will have signed a top-five recruit in three-straight classes after not having one since 2015. Brandon Boston held that distinction last year, and Chris Livingston currently holds it for the 2022 class.

In the meantime, Sharpe will be in Lexington soon and plans to redshirt for this season to get a head start on becoming a superstar during the 2022-23 college basketball season. He reportedly won’t be eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft, so for now, there’s no concern about Sharpe leaving before he plays at UK.

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