Jamal Murray announces he will attend Kentucky for 2015-16 NCAA season

Big Blue Nation is about to add a dash of red.

Jamal Murray, the next big-time Canadian hoops prospect, is off to the University of Kentucky, announcing his decision Wednesday at a press conference carried live on TSN's Sportscentre.

Originally expected to remain in high school for one more year, Murray reclassified over the weekend and became eligible to play in the NCAA for the 2015-16 season. He was rated as a five-star recruit by Rivals and ranked No. 15 overall. Recruited by over 30 schools, the two finalists were reported to be Kentucky and the University of Oregon.

"After looking at the history of Kentucky and looking at how many players they got to the next level, it made me want to go there even more," Murray said on TSN. "I really set my mind to just one year of hardwork and dedication to the game."

A six-foot-five combo guard, the Kitchener, Ont., native who attended Athlete Institute and played for its basketball club Orangeville Prep is a dynamic scorer and underrated distributor with a growing list of accolades. A 30-point, five assist performance in April's Nike Hoop Summit game really raised his already substantial profile. The annual Hoop Summit is a game in Portland, Ore., where the top high school players from the U.S. take on the top high schoolers from around the world.

Murray will be coached by John Calipari at Kentucky and though the Wildcats lost a large number of the squad that went 38-1 and reached the Final Four, they've replenished the team with another stacked recruiting class that got even better Wednesday with the addition of Murray.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr