Reed Sheppard named SEC Freshman of the Year

LEX 18 — Kentucky fans have known Reed Sheppard is special for quite some time. But now, the rest of the Southeastern Conference knows, too.

The London, Kentucky native has been named the SEC Freshman of the Year, following an incredible season in which he averaged 12.7 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

Those numbers don't seem to adequately reflect the impact Sheppard's had on the Wildcats this season. He also shot 54 percent from the field, 53 percent from deep, and 84 percent from the free throw line. He averaged just under 29 minutes per game, typically coming off the bench.

Per KenPom.com, his 3-point percentage of 52.6 percent leads the country, his true-shooting percentage (70.4 percent) is fourth and his effective field-goal percentage (68.2 percent) ranks seventh.

He topped double-figure scoring in 20 games and was named SEC Freshman of the Week four separate times, including in the final week of the regular season after his 27-point outing against Tennessee.

Sheppard is the 10th player under UK Head Coach John Calipari to earn SEC Freshman of the Year by the league’s coaches and the 11th Wildcat to win the honor in the award’s history. Sheppard is the first UK player to win the award since Keldon Johnson in 2019.

Sheppard closed out the final four games of the regular season averaging 19.25 points per outing, including two electric performances on the road. He exploded for a career-high 32 points over Mississippi State, followed up by a 27-point performance on the road at Tennessee.

In between those games, he dished out a career-high-tying 11 assists against Vanderbilt. Sheppard's one of just three UK players in the John Calipari-era to have double-figure assists in at least two games, joining John Wall and De'Aaron Fox. The 6-foot-3 guard leads this year's team with 140 assists on the year, which ranks as the eighth-most in single-season history by a UK freshman.

Sheppard finished the regular season leading the conference in steals and steals per game, with 78 total takeaways for an average of 2.5 per night. Since steals became an official stat in 1979, the 78 steals are the third-most by a UK player in program history. Only Rajon Rondo (87) and Wayne Turner (79) have more.

Sheppard and the rest of the Wildcats will be back in action this Friday at 7 p.m. for their first taste of post-season play. The No. 2 seed Cats will play the winner of Texas A&M/Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.

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