Woodford County High School experienced an unprecedented moment on Thursday, September 5th. Jasper Johnson returned to WCHS to announce his college decision. Jasper spent his first two years of high school attending and playing basketball for Woodford County. He was already garnering national recognition for his on-court abilities, but he really started to take off after Woodford’s historical Sweet Sixteen run, as they reached the state final four – the best that Woodford County basketball has ever done.
After that season, Jasper’s recruitment ranking skyrocketed, especially after he followed up Woodford’s run with a great AAU season. Currently, Jasper is the 12th ranked player in the class of 2025, the 2nd ranked shooting guard (his position) and the 3rd ranked player in the state of Georgia – he is currently playing for a semi-professional league called OTE (Overtime Elite). He is a 5-star and has maintained a top 15 ranking for almost 2 years now, gaining massive social media attention, along with nearly countless division 1 offers, including all of the biggest names in college basketball.
Jasper recently narrowed down his college choices to 5 schools: Kentucky, Louisville, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Alabama – all premier programs in the college basketball landscape.
As he announced the date of his decision, he also decided to return to WCHS to make his decision, including the school where he got his start in his journey as a top recruit. With an audience of the entire student body, national and local media, and his friends and family gathered in the WCHS gym, Jasper prepared to make the big decision. With CBS Sports’ reporter sitting beside him, the question was asked, “Where will you be attending college?”
After a few moments of faking out the crowd, Jasper was delivered a ‘pizza’ from Donatos. Inside the pizza box was a Kentucky basketball jersey. Jasper will be attending the University of Kentucky!
When asked about his decision Jasper said, “It’s a great feeling. […] Being from Lexington, Kentucky, I feel like it’s an easy decision right there. I mean I feel like I’m KY til I die.”
This sort of attitude is exactly what UK fans are searching for in their players, and hope that they have found in the new coaching hire of Mark Pope. Jasper will be joining fellow Kentucky high schooler Malachi Moreno in the class of 2025. Current UK players Travis Perry and Trent Noah are also from the state of KY. When asked about the flurry of in-state recruits, Jasper pointed out that, “It’s a lot of pride on the line, you know, with that name on the front of the jersey. But I’m really excited about my decision and I’m ready to get started and represent Kentucky.”
And the Kentucky fans are just as excited as he is, especially the ones from Woodford County as Jasper shared this incredible moment with our school and community.
