DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards Named SLAM All-Americans

Kentucky basketball's No. 1 recruiting class will hit campus in the coming weeks, but two of the four 5-stars in the group still aren't done earning high school awards.

Combo guard DJ Wagner and forward Justin Edwards have both been named SLAM High School All-Americans, it was announced on Thursday. The pair of Wildcats are joined by Isaiah Collier (USC), Jared McCain (Duke) and Matas Buzelis (G-League).

.@SLAM_HS All-Americans 🤩

Congrats to DJ Wagner and @Jedwards3_! pic.twitter.com/EQfaNv4dbj
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) May 26, 2023

Both signees were named Co-MVPs at the Iverson Classic, which followed Wagner's Co-MVP performance at the McDonald's All-American game back in March, where he scored 19 points — all of which came in the second half — and added three assists, two rebounds and two steals. It was a breakaway dunk and two free throws from the consensus top-three player in the class that served as the game-winners in Houston.

Edwards filled the stat sheet with 11 points, five boards, two assists and two steals. The Philadelphia native went 5-9 from the floor, including a couple of buckets that came via assists from Wagner.

Center Aaron Bradshaw, point guard Rob Dillingham and combo guard Reed Sheppard make out the rest of head coach John Calipari's seventh No. 1 recruiting class during his UK tenure.

"The main thing I know is that we all want to win. From having conversations with them and talking about next year, we all want to win. That's our main goal, just winning as much as we can," Wagner said ahead of the McDonald's All-American game.

“I have known DJ his entire life and I’ve always wanted to coach him," Calipari said. Above all he is a competitor. He attacks the offensive end and is a versatile scorer, but he is equally as tough on defense. I love the spirit he’ll bring to practice every day, and I love that he wanted to be at Kentucky. He knows that to get the best of himself, he needs to be surrounded by other talented players who are going to match his competitive energy.”

Edwards left no doubts when speaking about his expectations for the upcoming season:

"I think we can accomplish a lot. I think we can win a national championship."

“Justin has the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways," Calipari said. "He has terrific size, can play multiple positions and can score the ball at all three levels. I really like how active he is defensively and his desire to rebound every ball. He already has a great understanding that he can positively impact winning without scoring. That isn’t something you can teach, and I know Justin is going to demand the same of his teammates.”

The crew will make their Kentucky debut of sorts this summer, when the Wildcats represent the United States at the FIBA GLOBL JAM in Toronto in July.

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