When the University of Kentucky made it obvious they wanted North Hardin High School junior soccer standout Jabari Rasheed, he said that was more than enough for him to verbally commit to what he calls his “dream school.”
Rasheed, last year’s The News-Enterprise Area Defensive Player of the Year, said it was a whirlwind last week or so when he went from someone Kentucky was aware of to offering him a scholarship to play at the school beginning in 2024.
“UK has always been my dream school to go play soccer at,” said Rasheed, who was part of a Louisville City Academy FC squad that recently won the prestigious under-19 Dallas Cup. “I love the color blue, and I think being in Lexington is going to unlock a new area for me.”
Rasheed said he had been recruited by a number of Division I schools as a defender such as Louisville, Belmont, Portland, Washington and North Florida.
He said he had an offer from North Florida.
“They gave me a two-week deadline to answer back to them,” Rasheed said.
He said during those two weeks, Andy Fleming, a former Division I coach, helped drive interest in him and in the end it turned into choosing UK or U of L.
“UK was so fast with the process, and U of L wasn’t,” Rasheed said. “Given UK is my dream school, it wasn’t a hard decision on where I wanted to go.”
He said a teammate on Louisville City, Alex Kron, who is going to UK next season, also was part of the push to get him to UK.
Rasheed said Kron told UK coaches that his teammate was being pursued by U of L and they intensified their recruitment of him.
“(He) told the coaches about me talking to U of L and they hopped right on it,” he said.
Rasheed, who hopes to one day be in the sports management field, said he plans to major in business at Kentucky.
“I love the way the coaching staff treated me on my visit, let alone their soccer facilities and complex is beautiful,” said Rasheed, who also is a kicker on the NHHS football team.
Kentucky, which went 15-1-5 last season and was the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, had just two players from Kentucky last season on the 25-man roster. UK lost in the second round of the tournament to Pittsburgh, 2-1.
“When talking to the coaches they were straight forward when saying the best 11 players are going to start,” Rasheed said. “Which means it doesn’t matter what age or grade, if you’re in that best 11, you’re going to start. For me it is just going there and working my butt off. Going day by day. Of course at one point I won’t be in the best 11, but that’s just going to tell me I need to do better. It’s all about playing with the best, to sharpen yourself to become the best.”
Rasheed returns as one of the 5th Region’s top players on a North Hardin team that lost to Elizabethtown last season in the 5th Region Tournament final.
He said he is “grateful” to those who helped him in his soccer career and beyond.
“I’m beyond grateful,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here without anyone in my life that’s pushed me and cared for me. Truly blessed to be in this position.”
