Eastern Kentucky has had its share of Mr. Basketball honorees throughout the years. Martin County Cardinals shooting guard Braxton Keathley should be a strong candidate for garnering that honor in the future. The award only goes to seniors.
Keathley, only a junior, is currently averaging 32 points per game and has helped MCHS off to a strong start for the 2025-26 season. He is definitely an all-state candidate.
Keathley is a transfer from Prestonsburg and is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard who averaged 34 points and 10 rebounds per game last season. He shot around 50% from the field and 92% from the free-throw line last year.
Let’s look back at some of the other Mr. Basketball recipients from the region.
One of the first to win the coveted award was “King” Kelly Coleman of the old Wayland High School. Coleman was a schoolboy standout in the 1950s. He won the award in 1955.
Coleman’s 4,337 career points stood as the Kentucky state record for All-Time points for nearly seven decades. He was heavily recruited by several big schools, but played collegiately at Kentucky Wesleyan, was drafted by the New York Knicks in the NBA, and played in the old ABL professional league.
Fast forward to 1980, and Martin County native Ervin Stepp won the award while playing for Phelps High School in Pike County, for his brother Joe Stepp, who was the head coach. Stepp led the country in scoring in his junior and senior seasons, averaging 50 ppg in his senior year, and that was before the 3-point shot was implemented.
Ervin Stepp first went to Eastern Kentucky, but finished his career at nearby Alice Lloyd, once again teaming with his brother at Pippa Passes.
Virgie’s Todd May, a 6-foot-8 forward, won the award two years later in 1982. May started his career at UK, but transferred back to play near his hometown at Pikeville College. The San Antonio Spurs drafted him in the 4th round of the NBA draft.
In 1987, Paintsville High School standout John Pelphrey won the honor. He went on to play for the Wildcats at the University of Kentucky. He is currently a college coach.
A few years later, another Paintsville product won the award. J. R. VanHoose led his small high school to a Sweet 16 state title and went on to star at nearby Marshall University in Huntington. He is also in the Thundering Herd Hall of Fame.
VanHoose is an accomplished social studies teacher and assistant high school coach in his hometown at Johnson Central High School.
Elisha Justice, who is currently the high school coach at Pikeville High School, won the honor in 2010 while playing for Shelby Valley. He led that Pike County school to a state title that season. He first played for the Louisville Cardinals but later transferred to the University of Pikeville.
More recently, Cameron Justice won the coveted award in 2015 while playing for Knott County High School. He has Pike County roots. His father, Raymond, played and coached at Belfry High School and later at East Ridge. Cameron actually got his start playing in 7th grade at ERHS. He played at Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky University.
But getting back to Keathley, who is only a junior. He has already eclipsed the 2,000 career points and 500 rebound marks for a career. He will continue to add to those totals this year and in 2027. His free-throw percentage last year was one of the state’s all-time best for a season in state history.
The talented hoopster is already being recruited by several Division One colleges, including UK. Many teenagers dream of playing for the Wildcats, and I am sure many fans hope that may happen for Keathley in the future.
Keathley should get heavy consideration next year and in his senior season for Mr. Basketball in the Bluegrass State.
The eastern part of Kentucky has had its fair share of great basketball talent over the years. The trend continues right here in Martin County.
Until next time.
(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.)