8th grader Pierre Rondo fuels North Oldham's upset of top-ranked St. Xavier

A few days removed from winning the Louisville Invitational Tournament, top-ranked St. Xavier ran into the son of a talented former Kentucky Wildcat — and it did not end well for the Tigers.

On Tuesday night in Louisville, the No. 16 North Oldham Mustangs upset No. 1 St. Xavier 72-69, snapping the Tigers’ six-game winning streak. Among the game’s stars was eighth-grade point guard Pierre Rondo, who posted 17 points (7-11 FG), nine assists, four rebounds, and three steals with just one turnover in the win. The 5-foot-10 Pierre (a class of 2030 prospect!) is the son of UK alum Rajon Rondo, who played for the ‘Cats from 2004-06 before winning a pair of NBA championships across his 16-year pro career.

When watching Pierre’s highlights from the win over St. Xavier, you’ll quickly see that the apple sure doesn’t fall from the tree. The younger Rondo was aided by 22 points (6-9 3PT) from junior Eli Green, while junior Gregg Thomas added 12 points of his own. North Oldham turned the ball over just four times while shooting 64.3 percent from the field as a team.

Pierre Rondo will win Kentucky a championship pic.twitter.com/lET0UAjfxn

— Joe DiTullio (@DiTullioJoe) January 21, 2026

After St. Xavier took a 37-32 lead into the halftime break, North Oldham woke up in the third quarter, posting 24 points in the frame to take a five-point lead into the fourth. Green hit a couple of free throws in the final seconds of regulation to build the final score of 72-69. The Tigers received 20 points from sophomore Jordan Jackson and 19 points from senior Jeremiah Jackson.

The loss for St. Xavier marked just its second defeat of the season against a Kentucky-based team. St. Xavier (14-5) also lost to Male, 60-58, back on December 22 in the King of the Bluegrass, just two days after beating this same North Oldham team by 10. The Mustangs improved to 12-5 on the season with the win.

Rondo is quickly establishing himself as one of the best young players in the entire state. Through 15 games played this season, he’s averaging 12 points and 2.3 rebounds per outing (season-long assist numbers are not available) while shooting 42.5 percent from the field as an eighth grader playing at the varsity level. Expect him to be a high-profile national recruit once he finally reaches high school and continues to develop his overall game.

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