WATCH: NBA-bound Reed Sheppard rightly predicts Mystic Dan to win the Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Wildcats guard Reed Sheppard has been savoring the best attractions his hometown has to offer. He attended the 150th Kentucky Derby on Saturday as a VIP ahead of his departure for the NBA via the 2024 draft.

While speaking to reporters before the race, he made a prediction pre-race that turned out to be spot on, picking the No. 3 horse, Mystik Dan, with 15-1 odds to win.

“I just drew Mystik Dan out of the hat, so we’re just gonna stick with that,” he said.

Mystik Dan beat Forever Young and Sierra Leone in a photo finish.

Reed Sheppard details difficult decision to leave Kentucky

Reed Sheppard had a lot of incentives to return to Kentucky for an extra year. His family has deep generational ties with the Wildcats basketball program. Reed's father, Jeff Sheppard, won two national championship titles with the school in 1996 and 1998.

His mother, Stacey Sheppard, is considered a Wildcats legend in her own right and is in the record books of the program for the women's team.

When Reed Sheppard joined the team last year, he was not among the most highly-rated prospects recruited by departed coach John Calipari, who had the No. 1 class in the country.

That honor was reserved for explosive guard Rob Dillingham, and yet, Sheppard stepped up as the season progressed and became a fan favorite in Lexington with the Wildcats fans, who adopted him as one of their own.

As if fate were tempting him to stay, Kentucky hired 1996 national championship-winning captain Mark Pope as the next coach, and it just so happened that Pope was roommates with Reed's father.

During an interview with KSR, Sheppard detailed the difficulty of deciding to leave the team that he had supported as a child.

“I’m very excited. It was tough, it was a tough decision, for sure,” Reed Sheppard said. “Growing up, it was always a dream to play at Kentucky. Being able to do that this year and not really knowing what to expect, coming in wanting to do whatever it took to win and just have fun with it like my mom and dad were both saying. But at the end of the day, it was also a dream to play in the NBA.

“This year was unbelievable, it’s something I’ll never forget,” he said. “I’m super excited for the next step.”

Reed Sheppard is projected to be a lottery pick in the 2024 NBA draft, a dizzying projection considering his stock before the season began.