Reed Sheppard named National Freshman of the Year by CBS Sports

Reed Sheppard continues to rack up the National Freshman of the Year honors.

On Thursday, Sheppard picked up yet another award as the country’s top rookie, this one coming from Matt Norlander, Garry Parrish, and David Cobb over at CBS Sports. Those three also listed Purdue’s Zach Edey as National Player of the Year and UConn’s Dan Hurley as National Coach of the Year.

So far this offseason, Sheppard has already been recognized by the likes of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) as National Freshman of the Year. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Dick Vitale have done the same, as well.

Also on Thursday, CBS Sports unveiled its three All-American Teams from the 2023-24 season, but Kentucky fifth-year guard Antonio Reeves — who has already been named a Third Team All-American by multiple outlets — did not make the cut.

—– @CBSSports National Awards —–

POY: Zach Edey (Purdue)

COY: Dan Hurley (UConn)

FOY: Reed Sheppard (Kentucky)https://t.co/wCc1jcNwgA

— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) April 4, 2024

During his freshman campaign, Sheppard averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals in 28.9 minutes per outing. He was arguably the most efficient college player in the country with shooting clips of 53.6 percent from the field, 52.1 percent from deep, and 83.1 percent from the line.

Defensively, Sheppard’s 82 steals rank second-most in Kentucky men’s basketball history for a single season, trailing only Rajon Rondo and his 87 steals in 2004-05. The 6-foot-3 guard was also tabbed as the Southeastern Conference’s Freshman of the Year, in addition to earning Second Team All-SEC honors.

Sheppard has yet to announce whether or not he’ll put his name into the 2024 NBA Draft pool or return for a sophomore season at Kentucky. However, he is a projected top-10 pick in this summer’s draft and the expectation is he’ll ultimately leave Lexington for the pros.