Isaac DeGregorio to walk on at Kentucky

Isaac DeGregorio will continue his basketball career as a preferred walk-on at the University of Kentucky.

DeGregorio, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Allison Park, PA., has a connection to John Calipari and Kentucky.

Calipari, a Moon Township, PA., native, led Clarion to an NCAA Division II tournament appearance in 1981-82. Calipari’s coach at Clarion was Joe DeGregorio, Isaac’s grandfather. Isaac’s brother graduated from Kentucky in 2019, which is when Calipari offered the preferred walk-on spot.

DeGregorio, who held offers from Division II and Division III programs, texted Calipari on Saturday to let him know he was choosing to attend Kentucky.

“I was considering a lot of schools but at the end I decided that Kentucky was the best fit for me,” DeGregorio told Go Big Blue Country. “My parents and I had been talking about it for a while.”

DeGregorio has always been a UK fan and referred to Kentucky as his dream school.

“Kentucky is my dream school and always has been. I’ve been a Kentucky fan for pretty much my whole life.”

Isaac DeGregorio and John Calipari in 2015 when DeGregorio was 13 years old.

DeGregorio makes his way to Kentucky after a standout career at North Catholic High School, where he led the Trojans to a Class 3A WPIAL championship in 2020. He totaled 1,563 points, 283 made three-pointers (40-percent) and 440 assists in his career.

The newest Wildcat played his best basketball in postseason play, scoring 33 and 25 in the first two rounds of the playoffs. In the finals vs. Lincoln Park, DeGregorio scored 19 points and connected on all 10 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter.

After a successful high school career and multiple scholarship offers to play elsewhere, why did he choose to accept a walk-on spot at Kentucky?

“My dream is to be a coach,” DeGregorio said. “So having the opportunity to be around the best was too amazing to pass up.”

He will join the University of Kentucky men’s basketball program for the 2020-2021 season.