Data study · every season we hold
Where Kentucky High School Basketball Players Go to College
Of the 527 players from Kentucky high schools on a college roster in our data, 47% played their college basketball in Kentucky.
Computed from 527 players · 2020–21 to 2026–27 · updated Oct 29, 2026
47% stay in-state.
Kentucky is above the 43% all-state baseline.
Kentucky skews toward D1.
37% of Kentucky players in the dataset reached D1, against 34% nationally.
Ohio and Indiana are the first destinations out.
Among players leaving Kentucky, 17% went to Ohio and 10% to Indiana.
Kentucky's college players skew toward D1
Kentucky
n = 527
All states
n = 33,812
| KY | All states | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | 37% | 34% | +3 pts |
| D2 | 20% | 23% | −3 pts |
| D3 | 44% | 43% | +1 pts |
Where Kentucky players land
Destination states| Destination state | Players | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 246 | 47% |
| Ohio | 47 | 9% |
| Indiana | 27 | 5% |
| Tennessee | 19 | 4% |
| Florida | 17 | 3% |
| New York | 17 | 3% |
| Illinois | 15 | 3% |
| Alabama | 13 | 2% |
Which programs take Kentucky players
Historical landings| Program | Division | State | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centre | D3 | Kentucky | 33 |
| Transylvania | D3 | Kentucky | 29 |
| Spalding | D3 | Kentucky | 27 |
| Berea | D3 | Kentucky | 22 |
| Thomas More | D2 | Kentucky | 20 |
| Asbury | D3 | Kentucky | 17 |
| Kentucky Wesleyan | D2 | Kentucky | 17 |
| Eastern Kentucky | D1 | Kentucky | 16 |
| Mount St. Joseph | D3 | Ohio | 16 |
| Bellarmine | D1 | Kentucky | 15 |
| Program | Division | State | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Kentucky | D1 | Kentucky | 16 |
| Bellarmine | D1 | Kentucky | 15 |
| WKU | D1 | Kentucky | 13 |
| Morehead State | D1 | Kentucky | 9 |
| Northern Kentucky | D1 | Kentucky | 8 |
| Liberty | D1 | Virginia | 7 |
| Louisville | D1 | Kentucky | 7 |
| Kentucky | D1 | Kentucky | 6 |
| Evansville | D1 | Indiana | 4 |
| ETSU | D1 | Tennessee | 3 |
| Program | Division | State | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas More | D2 | Kentucky | 20 |
| Kentucky Wesleyan | D2 | Kentucky | 17 |
| Kentucky State | D2 | Kentucky | 4 |
| Saint Leo | D2 | Florida | 4 |
| Cedarville | D2 | Ohio | 2 |
| McKendree | D2 | Illinois | 2 |
| Mississippi College | D2 | Mississippi | 2 |
| Nova Southeastern | D2 | Florida | 2 |
| Ohio Dominican | D2 | Ohio | 2 |
| PennWest California | D2 | Pennsylvania | 2 |
| Program | Division | State | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centre | D3 | Kentucky | 33 |
| Transylvania | D3 | Kentucky | 29 |
| Spalding | D3 | Kentucky | 27 |
| Berea | D3 | Kentucky | 22 |
| Asbury | D3 | Kentucky | 17 |
| Mount St. Joseph | D3 | Ohio | 16 |
| Franklin | D3 | Indiana | 8 |
| Hanover | D3 | Indiana | 7 |
| Wittenberg | D3 | Ohio | 5 |
| Capital | D3 | Ohio | 3 |
What this means for a Kentucky recruit
How to read itStart local, but don't stop local.
47% of Kentucky players in the dataset stayed in-state — the programs most likely to see you play repeatedly are the ones nearby.
Your realistic level matters more than geography alone.
Kentucky's historical landings skew toward D1 (37% vs 34% nationally).
Past recruiting is a signal, not a guarantee.
A program that repeatedly rosters players from your state has demonstrated a pathway; it does not mean it will recruit you.
Those are the historical patterns for Kentucky. Where does your profile fit?
Depth Chart scores your size, position, level and recruiting profile against all 1,060 programs.
Methodology
Source · sample · scope527 players · 1,060 programs · 2020–21 to 2026–27
Definitions and scope
- Source
- Official rosters published by the athletics sites of 1,060 NCAA D1, D2 and D3 men's programs, collected by Depth Chart.
- Home state
- The state of the high school on the player's record — the same definition the state tool uses, so the two read the same data the same way.
- Level
- Each player counts once, at the highest level they reached across the seasons we hold (D1 over D2 over D3).
- Sample
- 527 players from Kentucky high schools, across every season we hold; roster coverage runs 2020–21 to 2026–27. A state with fewer than 200 players in our data is not published, because it would describe a coincidence rather than a pattern.
- Computed
- Oct 29, 2026 · methodology state-landing-pages-1
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