# Kentucky Mr. Basketball

The Kentucky Mr. Basketball honor recognizes the top high school senior basketball player in the state of Kentucky. The first Kentucky Mr. Basketball was "King" Kelly Coleman of Wayland High School in 1956. The winner of the Mr. Basketball award wears #1 on his jersey in the summer all-star series against the Indiana High School All-Stars. 1940 was the first year for the Kentucky/Indiana High School All-Star Series, that year, the Indiana All-Stars defeated the Kentucky All-Stars 31–29. The Kentucky Mr. Basketball award is the third oldest such award in the nation; only Indiana Mr. Basketball and California Mr. Basketball, which were first awarded in 1939 and 1950, respectively, predate it.
The award is presented annually by the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation.

## Award winners

NBA teams listed are teams known, or teams that drafted the player.
| Year | Player | High School | College | NBA Draft |
| 1954 | Vernon Hatton | Lafayette | Kentucky | 1958 NBA draft: 2nd round, 10th overall by the Cincinnati Royals |
| 1955 | Kenny Kuhn | Male | | |
| 1956 | Kelly Coleman | Wayland | Kentucky Wesleyan | 1960 NBA draft: 2nd round, 11th overall by the New York Knicks |
| 1957 | Billy Ray Lickert | Lafayette | Kentucky | 1961 NBA draft: 5th round, 45th overall by the L.A. Lakers |
| 1958 (tie) | Ralph Richardson | Russell County | Eastern Kentucky | |
| 1958 (tie) | Harry Todd | Earlington | Western Kentucky | |
| 1959 | Pat Doyle | North Marshall | Kentucky | |
| 1960 | Jeff Mullins | Lafayette | Duke | 1964 NBA draft: 1st round, 5th overall by the St. Louis Hawks |
| 1961 | Randy Embry | Owensboro | Kentucky | |
| 1962 | Mike Silliman | St. Xavier | Army | 1966 NBA draft: 8th round, 69th overall by the New York Knicks |
| 1963 | Mike R. Redd | Seneca | Kentucky Wesleyan | |
| 1964 | Wes Unseld | Seneca | Louisville | 1968 NBA draft: 1st round, 2nd overall by the Baltimore Bullets |
| 1965 | Butch Beard | Breckinridge County | Louisville | 1969 NBA draft: 1st round, 10th overall by the Atlanta Hawks |
| 1966 | Mike Casey | Shelby County | Kentucky | |
| 1967 | Jim McDaniels | Allen County | Western Kentucky | 1971 NBA draft: 2nd round, 23rd overall by the Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1968 | Terry Davis | Shelby County | Western Kentucky | |
| 1969 | Ron King | Central | Florida State | |
| 1970 | Robert Brooks | Madison | Eastern Kentucky | |
| 1971 | Jimmy Dan Conner | Anderson County | Kentucky | 1975 NBA draft: 2nd round, 36th overall by the Phoenix Suns |
| 1972 | Jerry Thruston | Owensboro | Mercer | |
| 1973 | Wesley Cox | Male | Louisville | 1977 NBA draft: 1st round, 18th overall by the Golden State Warriors |
| 1974 | Jack Givens | Bryan Station | Kentucky | 1978 NBA draft: 1st round, 16th overall by the Atlanta Hawks |
| 1975 | Dom Fucci | Tates Creek | Auburn | |
| 1976 | Darrell Griffith | Male | Louisville | 1980 NBA draft: 1st round, 2nd overall by the Utah Jazz |
| 1977 | Jeff Lamp | Ballard | Virginia | 1981 NBA draft: 1st round, 15th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1978 | Doug Schloemer | Holmes | Cincinnati | |
| 1979 | Dirk Minniefield | Lafayette | Kentucky | 1983 NBA draft: 2nd round, 33rd overall by the Dallas Mavericks |
| 1980 | Ervin Stepp | Phelps | Eastern Kentucky Alice Lloyd College | |
| 1981 | Phil Cox | Cawood | Vanderbilt | |
| 1982 | Todd May | Virgie | Kentucky Pikeville | 1987 NBA draft: 4th round, 73rd overall by the San Antonio Spurs |
| 1983 | Winston Bennett | Male | Kentucky | 1988 NBA draft: 3rd round, 64th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1984 | Steve Miller | Henry Clay | Western Kentucky | |
| 1985 | Tony Kimbro | Seneca | Louisville | |
| 1986 | Rex Chapman | Apollo | Kentucky | 1988 NBA draft: 1st round, 8th overall by the Charlotte Hornets |
| 1987 | John Pelphrey | Paintsville | Kentucky | |
| 1988 | Richie Farmer | Clay County | Kentucky | |
| 1989 | Allan Houston | Ballard | Tennessee | 1993 NBA draft: 1st round, 11th overall by the Detroit Pistons |
| 1990 | Dwayne Morton | Louisville Central | Louisville | 1994 NBA draft: 2nd round, 45th overall by the Golden State Warriors |
| 1991 | Jermaine Brown | Fairdale | Georgetown (KY) | |
| 1992 | Tick Rogers | Hart County | Louisville | |
| 1993 | Jason Osborne | Male | Louisville | |
| 1994 | Elton Scott | Marion County | West Virginia | |
| 1995 | Charles Thomas | Harlan | Eastern Kentucky | |
| 1996 | Daymeon Fishback | Greenwood | Auburn | |
| 1997 | Brandon Davenport | Owensboro | Lindsey Wilson College | |
| 1998 | J. R. VanHoose | Paintsville | Marshall | |
| 1999 | Rick Jones | Scott County | Vanderbilt Murray State | |
| 2000 | Scott Hundley | Scott County | Vanderbilt | |
| 2001 | Josh Carrier | Bowling Green | Kentucky | |
| 2002 | Brandon Stockton | Glasgow | Kentucky | |
| 2003 | Ross Neltner | Highlands | LSU Vanderbilt | |
| 2004 | Chris Lofton | Mason County | Tennessee | |
| 2005 | Domonic Tilford | Jeffersontown | South Alabama | |
| 2006 | Walt Allen | South Laurel | Presbyterian | |
| 2007 | Steffphon Pettigrew | Elizabethtown | Western Kentucky | |
| 2008 | Darius Miller | Mason County | Kentucky | 2012 NBA draft: 2nd round, 46th overall by the New Orleans Hornets |
| 2009 | Jon Hood | Madisonville North Hopkins | Kentucky | |
| 2010 | Elisha Justice | Shelby Valley | Louisville Pikeville | |
| 2011 | Anthony Hickey | Christian County | LSU Oklahoma State | |
| 2012 | Nathan Dieudonne | Trinity | Boston University | |
| 2013 | Dominique Hawkins | Madison Central | Kentucky | |
| 2014 | Quentin Snider | Ballard | Louisville | |
| 2015 | Camron Justice | Knott County Central | Vanderbilt IUPUI Western Kentucky | |
| 2016 | Carson Williams | Owen County | Northern Kentucky Western Kentucky | |
| 2017 | Taveion Hollingsworth | Dunbar | Western Kentucky | |
| 2018 | Trevon Faulkner | Mercer County | Northern Kentucky | |
| 2019 | Dontaie Allen | Pendleton County | Kentucky Western KY | |
| 2020 | Dayvion McKnight | Martha Layne Collins | Western Kentucky | |
| 2021 | Ben Johnson | Lexington Catholic | Bellarmine |
| 2022 | Turner Buttry | Bowling Green | Eastern Kentucky | |
| 2023 | Reed Sheppard | North Laurel | Kentucky | 2024 NBA draft: 1st round, 3rd overall by the Houston Rockets |
| 2024 | Travis Perry | Lyon County | Kentucky |
| 2025 | Malachi Moreno | Great Crossing | Kentucky |

### Schools with multiple winners

| School | Number of Awards | Years |
| Male | 5 | 1955, 1973, 1976, 1983, 1993 |
| Lafayette | 4 | 1954, 1957, 1960, 1979 |
| Ballard | 3 | 1977, 1989, 2014 |
| Owensboro | 3 | 1961, 1972, 1997 |
| Seneca | 3 | 1963, 1964, 1985 |
| Shelby Valley | 2 | 1982, 2010 |
| Mason County | 2 | 2004, 2008 |
| Bowling Green | 2 | 2001, 2022 |
| Scott County | 2 | 1999, 2000 |
| Paintsville | 2 | 1987, 1998 |
| Shelby County | 2 | 1966, 1968 |
    1.^ Reflects awards won by schools that have since been consolidated.

### Colleges with multiple winners

| College | Number of Awards | Years |
| Kentucky | 22 | 1954, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1966, 1971, 1974, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| Louisville | 10 | 1964, 1965, 1973, 1976, 1985, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2010, 2014 |
| Western Kentucky | 9 | 1958, 1967, 1968, 1984, 2007, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 |
| Vanderbilt | 5 | 1981, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2015 |
| Eastern Kentucky | 5 | 1958, 1970, 1980, 1995, 2022 |
| Northern Kentucky | 2 | 2016, 2018 |
| LSU | 2 | 2003, 2011 |
| Pikeville | 2 | 1982, 2010 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 1989, 2004 |
| Auburn | 2 | 1975, 1996 |
| Kentucky Wesleyan | 2 | 1956, 1963 |