KY’s top 25 boys high school basketball players for 2023-24 | Lexington Herald Leader

Below is the Herald-Leader preseason top-25 ranking of Kentucky high school boys basketball players for the 2023-24 season, as voted on by coaches in a statewide survey conducted by high school sports writer Jared Peck.

The poll asked every coach to rank their “top 10 players in the state.”

Tabulating the results, the Herald-Leader lists the overall top 10 along with school, grade level, height, last season’s points per game (in parentheses) and a brief comment. The next 15 players are listed with their school, grade level and last season’s points per game along with their choice of college, if known. All players appearing on at least two ballots received honorable mention.

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TOP 10 PLAYERS

1. Travis Perry, Lyon County (6-2 Sr., 31.6 points): The all-time leading scorer in Kentucky boys high school basketball history with his senior year still on tap, Perry garnered 92 votes as the state’s top player among the 106 coaches who responded to the Herald-Leader’s survey. The four-star guard recently signed with Kentucky and his team ranks No. 1 in the Herald-Leader’s preseason top 25. The only questions are how far will he extend his points record beyond the 4,359 he has to start the season and can Lyon contend for the All “A” Classic and Boys Sweet 16 titles.

2. Kade Unseld, Warren Central (6-6 Sr., 16.1 points): Unseld was the second-leading scorer and rebounder on a senior-laden and incredibly balanced state championship team last season. After two straight trips to the Boys Sweet 16 finals, the 2023 Herald-Leader first team all-stater will be sidelined to start the season as he works back from a minor injury, but is expected to return soon. He recently signed with Western Kentucky.

3. Malachi Moreno, Great Crossing (7-1 Jr., 14.8 points): Moreno averaged a double-double for the second consecutive season and is rated as a four-star recruit and the top Kentucky prospect in the class of 2025. He reportedly has at least 22 college offers, including Kentucky.

4. Trent Noah, Harlan County (6-6 Sr. 26.5 points): In addition to leading his team in scoring, Noah, a South Carolina signee, grabbed 12.8 rebounds per game and shot 83.1 percent from the free throw line on more than 200 attempts, one of the best marks in the state.

5. Ayden Evans, Elizabethtown (6-8 Sr., 16.1 points): Evans, an Ohio signee, shot 61 percent from the field and grabbed 9.6 rebounds per game for the Panthers, who won the 5th Region title and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Boys Sweet 16.

6. Brett Decker, Central Hardin (6-2 Sr., 23 points): Decker, a Liberty signee, was one of the best long-range shooters in the state last season, making 49 percent of his 3-point tries. He averaged 3.5 made threes per game.

7. Ty Price, Butler County (5-10 Jr., 31.2 points): One of only five players last season to average better than 30 points per game, Price has offers from Mississippi State, Eastern Kentucky, and Southeast Missouri.

8. EJ Walker, Lloyd Memorial (6-8 Jr., 14.1 points): A four-star prospect according to the 247Sports.com composite, Walker has more than 20 offers, including Purdue, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Xavier. He averaged 8.4 rebounds per game last season.

9. Damone King, DeSales (6-3 Sr., 16 points): A transfer from Manual, King led the Crimsons in scoring last season and joins an experienced Colts team that includes 6-6 Liberty commit Will Gibson.

10. Armelo Boone, Frederick Douglass (6-4 Jr., 16 points): Boone’s clutch 3-pointer late in the 11th Region championship helped send the Broncos to the Boys Sweet 16 where they reached the state semifinals. He has offers from Eastern Kentucky and Hampton, so far.

THE NEXT 15

11. Taylen Kinney, Newport (6-0 So., 13.9 points): Undecided.

12. Mason Ritter, Bowling Green (6-8 Sr., 12.7 points): Columbia.

13. Jayden Johnson, Trinity (6-5 So., 10.6 points): Undecided.

14. Dayton Williams, Butler (6-4 Sr., 14.4 points): Undecided.

15. Drae Vasser, Trinity (6-1 Sr., 13.5 points): Undecided.

16. Max Green, Oldham County (6-6 Sr., 23.8 points): Holy Cross.

17. QuelRon House, Seneca (5-11 Sr., 25 points): Undecided.

18. Zander Carter, Ashland Blazer (6-4 Jr., 22.2 points): Liberty.

19. Blake Reed, Mason County (5-11 Sr., 28.6 points): Undecided.

20. Austin Sperry, Breathitt County (6-4 Jr., 17.8 points): Undecided.

21. Vince Dawson, Great Crossing (6-5 Jr., 15.8 points): Undecided.

22. Christian Doerr, Evangel Christian (6-3 Sr., 18.5 points): Undecided.

23. Cole Edelen, Male (6-2 So., 15.9 points): Undecided.

24. Jackson “BB” Washington, Christian Academy-Louisville (6-3 Sr., 11.1 points): Florida Gulf Coast.

25. Eli Finley, Calloway County (6-1 Jr., 21 points): Undecided.

HONORABLE MENTION

Players who appeared on at least two coaches’ top 10s, listed in points order: Gabe Weis, Washington County; Will Gibson, DeSales; Tyler Doyle, Lexington Catholic; Brady Shoulders, Lyon County; Darrell Bateman, Christian County; Kyran Tilley, Evangel Christian; Julius Edmonds, Trinity; Jay Rose, Madison Southern; Jacob Spurlock, Boyd County; Jordan Mabe, South Laurel; Jeremiah Jackson, St. Xavier; Elijah Decker, Ohio County; Antonio Williams, Hopkinsville; Daniel Allen, LaRue County; Jacob Hand, Holy Cross (Louisville); Luke Hale, Martin County.

The online version of this story includes links to top 25 player highlights or social media.

METHODOLOGY

Our annual survey was emailed to all 275 KHSAA boys basketball coaches in Kentucky, using their email registered with the KHSAA. Multiple attempts were made to encourage every school to participate. Coaches were asked to select their top 10 players, and points were assigned based on a player’s position on the ballot (10 points for No. 1, nine points for No. 2, eight points for No. 3, etc.), and tabulated across all ballots received; some schools participated in the survey but declined to vote due to unfamiliarity with players and teams outside of their own area. A total of 106 coaches (38.5 percent) voted in our top-10 players poll out of the 176 coaches (64 percent) who responded to the survey and supplied information about their teams.

2023-24 SEASON PREVIEW

This is the second of eight stories the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com is publishing in the coming days previewing the 2023-24 high school boys and girls basketball seasons, which are scheduled to tip off Nov. 27.

This story was originally published November 23, 2023 9:00 AM.