BREAKING: Shaedon Sharpe will enroll early at Kentucky, "100%" returning in 2022-23

Shaedon Sharpe will enroll at the University of Kentucky in January and redshirt before returning in 2022-23.

The nation’s consensus No. 1 overall prospect confirmed the news this morning.

“I would like to announce I’ll be enrolling second semester at the University of Kentucky,” said Sharpe. “Thank you to all my family, friends and supporters. Looking forward to joining the #BBN family.”

it’s 🆙 #bbn see y’all soon. 🔵⚪️ #mytoolbox pic.twitter.com/bJ5Z0E1OvR
— Shaedon Sharpe (@ShaedonSharpe) November 9, 2021

Sharpe committed to Kentucky back in September, choosing the Wildcats over Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma State and the NBA G League Ignite.

The five-star guard sat down with Jason Jordan of Sports Illustrated to discuss his decision to enroll early, adding that he wanted to train with “older, bigger, stronger and better players.”

“I’m going to enroll in January,” Sharpe told Sports Illustrated. “I’m going to report down there after Christmas. I won’t play this season though. I’m going to redshirt. I just want to get a head start on college basketball and train with older, bigger, stronger and better players.”

Sources tell KSR that UK head coach John Calipari informed incoming recruits and their families this past week that Sharpe would be enrolling in January and would be back in 2022-23.

It’s a move that Sharpe says the Kentucky coaching staff was “all in” with, one that would allow him to get a head start on the competition for next season.

“It just makes more sense to me to go play where I can elevate my game the most,” said Sharpe. “This is something I came up with, and when I told the coaches they were all in.”

Any concern about entering the NBA Draft next spring? Don’t bother. Sharpe says he is “100%” returning to Lexington for what will be his redshirt freshman season.

“I won’t play this season, but 100% I will be at Kentucky to play next season,” Sharpe told Sports Illustrated. “… That’s a definite for me. I love everything about Kentucky, so I’m looking forward to that.

“… The work is what excites me; just seeing my game grow. My goal now is to get down there and get better every day. I’m still gonna help the team this season because I’ll be pushing the players and they’ll be pushing me in practice. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Sharpe is rated as the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2022 in the On3 Consensus Rankings.