Kentucky High School Basketball is Adding a Shot Clock

Sorry, Four-Corners, your days are numbered. The days of stall-ball in Kentucky high school basketball are nearing an end.

The KHSAA Board of Control voted on Wednesday to add a 35-second shot clock by the 2027-28 season, reports Jason Frakes. The vote passed 13-5. The shot clock will only apply to varsity games.

It’s a surprising change of direction. In an August survey, 150 of 252 responding schools rejected statewide adoption of a shot clock unless the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) made it a nationwide mandate. Back in 2021, the NFHS allowed states to begin implementing them into competition. Prior to the start of this school year, 31 states and Washington D.C. planned on playing with a 35-second shot clock in the 2025-26 season.

Critics of the shot clock rule say it’s too costly. In Georgia, the state offers a shot clock package that costs $2,900. The two-year run-up allows school districts to save enough money to have them ready to roll for the 2027-28 season.

Another critique: Who’s going to run them? If schools can find a scoreboard operator, a PA announcer, three members of a chain gang, and a dozen other volunteers to take tickets and run the concession stand for every football game, surely they’ll be able to find one more person to flip a switch every time a ball hits the rim.

Most importantly, the addition of the shot clock will make Kentucky high school basketball games feel more like a basketball game. A 10-point deficit with three minutes to play does not feel insurmountable. Teams will not have to foul to extend a game. They can still play defense for 35 seconds to try to turn the tide on the game.

Kentucky high school basketball has some momentum. For long periods of time, the state has not produced power conference recruits. That is changing.

Trent Noah and Travis Perry had an epic duel in the Sweet 16 Championship game before signing up to play in the SEC. Malachi Moreno was a Top-30 player at Great Crossing last year. There are two Top 50 players in the 2028 recruiting class, Josh Lindsay (St. X) and Boogie Cook (CAL), playing basketball in the city of Louisville.

There are future college basketball players in the state of Kentucky. They should be playing by similar rules during their time in high school. That will happen when shot clocks are adopted for the 2027-28 season.

Got thoughts? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board.