For most athletes, their time in college is fleeting but can be one of the best experiences of their lives. For residents of Kentucky, the college players who come through the state are often better known for their short time at the University of Kentucky or Louisville than for their exploits at the pro level.
While this kind of fandom is impossible to perfectly quantify, BetKentucky.com, your home for Kentucky sports betting, was still interested in looking into the popularity of college athletes that went to school in the state.
Most Popular College Jerseys In Kentucky
BetKentucky.com decided to look into which college sports jerseys were searched the most in the entire state by utilizing Google Trends to gather data over the past 12 months (July 2022 to July 2023). By doing that, we were able to find results to get the top three college sports jerseys for the state of Kentucky.
For the study, only colleges in Kentucky were included.
Jackson And Booker And Davis, Oh My!
The top three athletes who had their jerseys searched for over the 12-month span all spent time in the spotlight over the past year. Lamar Jackson, who played football for three years at Louisville ranked first. Jackson was followed by Devin Booker, who spent the 2014-15 season with the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Coming in third was fellow Wildcat Anthony Davis, who spent the 2011-12 season with the Wildcats.
Jackson spent a lot of the year in the headlines with his contract impasse with the Baltimore Ravens getting a lot of attention. The NFL star quarterback eventually signed a massive five-year pact with the Ravens in May, setting a record for the biggest NFL contract ever. Jackson was the Heisman Trophy winner in 2016 at Louisville and finished third in voting the following year before declaring for the NFL Draft and going first overall to the Ravens. While he was a solid passer, Jackson really made his impact on the ground, rushing for 1571 and 1601 yards in his final two seasons at Louisville.
Booker didn’t spend as much time in the state as Jackson, suiting up for a single season with the Wildcats before getting drafted in the first round of the 2015 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns. The Suns had a strong year, trading for Kevin Durant before the playoffs, where they ended up losing to the eventual champion Nuggets in the second round. Booker averaged ten points a game in his year in Kentucky as the Wildcats advanced to the Final Four in March Madness before losing to Wisconsin.
Playing for the Wildcats a few years before Booker came through, Anthony Davis was able to do what Booker couldn’t as he won the 2011-12 National Championship, defeating the Kansas Jayhawks in the final game. Davis had a dominant season, averaging over 14 points and 10 rebounds per game. Davis took home a bevy of trophies during the year, including being named the AP Player of the Year. He was chosen first overall in the NBA Draft, capping off a year of dominance in the state of Kentucky.
The college programs in Kentucky continue to churn out an incredible amount of talent to the professional leagues, but the exploits of Jackson, Booker, and Davis in college and their continued success at the pro level set them apart, proven once again by their continued high amount of jersey sales in the state.
Sports betting is headed to the Bluegrass State in the coming weeks. Get ready for its arrival and learn about all of the best Kentucky sportsbook apps expected to launch in the state.
Bonus: Best Kentucky Sports Betting Promotions Ahead Of Launch
