David Sloan, ranked among the top high school basketball players in Kentucky in the Class of 2017, has enrolled at Ballard with the intent of playing for the Bruins during the 2016-17 season.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association will have the final say over that.
Sloan announced last week he was leaving Taylor County to move in with his mother in Louisville.
Jerry Wyman, director of athletics and activities for Jefferson County Public Schools, said transfers can receive waivers that essentially allow them to enroll at any school they choose.
“It happens at all levels – elementary, middle school and high school,” Wyman said. “You ask the school, ‘Do you have room for this kid?’ There are kids all over the district who go to other schools outside their resides school.”
Wyman noted Sloan’s eligibility as an athlete at Ballard will be decided by the KHSAA.
“That’s up to them to rule on … the transfer from Taylor County to (Ballard),” Wyman said.
Taylor County coach Richard Gatewood became Sloan’s legal guardian in the fall of 2013. Sloan played for Gatewood at Moore as an eighth-grader during the 2012-13 season, and the duo headed to Taylor County before the 2013-14 season.
A 6-foot guard, Sloan averaged 20 points and 4.4 rebounds this season as Taylor County reached the state tournament for the second straight year, finishing with a 25-9 record after falling to Doss in the quarterfinals.
According to Rivals.com, Sloan is a three-star recruit and the No. 124-ranked junior in the nation. He has scholarship offers from Butler, Eastern Kentucky, Iowa State, Louisville, Memphis, Missouri, Samford, Southeast Missouri and Western Kentucky. He said Cincinnati, Clemson and Ohio State also are showing interest.
Sloan said last week he left Taylor County because he missed seeing his parents in the stands.
“I just want to play in my city,” he said. “You only get this opportunity once. … My freshman and sophomore year I felt good about (Taylor County). But my junior season it started to hit me, and after the season ended it hit me a lot because I wanted to see my parents.”
If ruled eligible, Sloan would join a Ballard program that will return two starters – Jamil Wilson and Clivonte Patterson – from a team that finished 22-11 after losing to Trinity in the semifinals of the Seventh Region Tournament.
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.