The future is bright in Lexington as the Kentucky women’s basketball has a new coach taking the reins of the program: Virginia Tech’s Kenny Brooks.
With a ton of changes expected to be made to the roster, there is plenty to keep track of so the Kentucky Kernel decided to keep it all in one concise location.
Who’s back:
Cassidy Rowe:
The only player to seemingly confirm their return to Lexington, albeit inadvertently, was Kentucky native Cassidy Rowe.
The confirmation came from Rowe’s father, Lonnie Rowe, on X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly after new head coach Kenny Brooks was hired to lead the Wildcats.
“Like I said before,” he wrote, “Cass is loyal to her state and school. She loves BBN and I know is looking forward to playing for Coach Brooks. GoCats!”
While Rowe herself has not made a statement, she has continued sharing Kentucky content on her social media and attended Brooks’ introductory press conference along with several teammates.
Rowe averaged 2.6 points and one rebound per game while shooting 33.7% from the field as a sophomore. She will look to continue to develop her game and push Kentucky forward in year three in Lexington.
Who’s gone:
Emma King:
The first player to definitively depart from Kentucky’s women’s basketball team was veteran Emma King, who ran out of eligibility when the clock struck midnight on the Wildcats’ SEC Tournament run.
King played in Lexington for five years as a Kentucky kid, being born in Stanford and attending Lincoln County High School.
Her best season was her last as she averaged 4.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, including an eight-point performance in the Cats’ postseason defeat against Tennessee.
She’ll finish her Kentucky career with a total of 102 games in Blue and White.
Ajae Petty:
Kentucky center Ajae Petty entered her name into the transfer portal shortly after the end of the Cats’ season on March 12.
Petty, who joined the Cats from LSU in 2022, made a massive impact for the Cats during the 2023-24 season.
In her first season in Lexington she averaged just 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game but those numbers ballooned to 14.2 points and 10.6 rebounds — an average of a double-double — in her fourth collegiate season.
The Baltimore, Maryland, native released a statement on social media saying that she would be entering the transfer portal not long after head coach Kyra Elzy was relieved of her duties. She will have an option to return to play for coach Brooks.
Update: As of April 15, Petty committed to Ohio State. She made the announcement on social media.
DESTINATION: Ohio State
Maddie Scherr:
One of the biggest pieces of offseason news for Kentucky women’s basketball came when Maddie Scherr entered the transfer portal in mid March.
Scherr, a former Miss Kentucky Basketball out of Ryle High School in Florence, Kentucky, began her college career at Oregon, before joining Kyra Elzy in Lexington after two seasons in Eugene in 2022.
Scherr made an immediate impact in Lexington, averaging 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game as a junior while leading the Cats.
Coming back as a senior, Scherr saw her points increase to 12.5 per game while she averaged 4.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game after battling injuries. She was unable to play in the SEC Tournament for the Wildcats due to being in concussion protocol.
Scherr entered the portal after Elzy was relieved of her duties but will maintain the option to return to Lexington if she chooses.
Eniya Russell:
Another major piece of Kentucky’s roster to enter the transfer portal was senior Eniya Russell.
Russell did so on March 20, around a week after her head coach, Kyra Elzy, was relieved of her duties.
Elzy recruited Russell, who made the decision to transfer to Lexington as a rising junior from South Carolina in 2022.
The Baltimore native struggled to make an impact as a junior but came into her own as a senior, becoming one of Kentucky’s most reliable pieces during the 2023-24 season, especially at times when teammate Maddie Scherr was battling injuries.
She averaged 10.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 41% from the field and 21% from beyond the arch.
Russell entered the portal with the option to return to Lexington if she chooses for her final year of eligibility. She was one of three Wildcats who attended new head coach Kenny Brooks’ introductory press conference while having her name in the portal.
Update: As of April 15, Russell announced she would be transferring to Mississippi State. She made the announcement on social media.
DESTINATION: Mississippi State
Janae Walker:
Kentucky freshman Janae Walker was quick to announce her decision to enter the transfer portal, along with Ajae Petty, shortly after head coach Kyra Elzy was relieved of her duties by athletic director Mitch Barnhart.
Walker committed to Kentucky, choosing Lexington over USC, Syracuse and Wisconsin.
Hailing from Tyrone, Georgia, Walker wasn’t able to make a massive splash as a freshman, averaging 0.9 points and 1.3 rebounds per game, with her zenith being a six-point showing against in-state rival Louisville in December.
Despite that, Walker does have potential to be a star with plenty of collegiate eligibility remaining. Though she entered the portal, Walker will have the option to return to Kentucky if she chooses. She was one of three Wildcats to attend new head coach Kenny Brooks’ introductory press conference despite being in the portal.
Jordy Griggs:
Kentucky freshman Jordy Griggs is one of the latest entries into the transfer portal, entering in early April.
Griggs is the second freshman to enter the transfer portal after Janae Walker did so shortly after former head coach Kyra Elzy was relieved of her duties.
Coming out of Montverde Academy, Griggs committed to Kentucky as a McDonald’s All American nominee.
She had limited contributions as a freshman, averaging 0.8 points and 0.3 rebounds per game.
Griggs announced she would be transferring on her social media. It is possible she makes a return to Lexington, but with her entering the portal AFTER Kenny Brooks was hired in Lexington, the situation is different from those who entered before her.
Nyah Leveretter:
Kentucky senior Nyah Leveretter reportedly entered the transfer portal after head coach Kyra Elzy was relieved of her duties at Kentucky.
Leveretter has spent four season in Lexington, three of which she played in.
Coming to Kentucky out of Westwood High School in Blythewood, South Carolina, Leveretter was forced to take up a larger role with Kentucky after the Wildcats got down to just six healthy non-suspended players during her sophomore season.
Returning with plans for a larger role as a junior, Leveretter averaged 2.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game — along with 0.6 blocks per game — before suffering a torn ACL that ended her season.
She did not take the court during the 2023-24 season while recovering from the ACL tear.
Entering the portal, Leveretter will maintain the option to return to Lexington to play for new head coach Kenny Brooks if she chooses. She was one of three Cats to attend Brooks’ introductory press conference despite being in the transfer portal.
Brooklynn Miles:
Kentucky junior Brooklynn Miles reportedly entered the transfer portal in early April.
Miles, who played two seasons at Tennessee before coming to Kentucky, graduated from Franklin County High School in Frankfort, Kentucky.
She averaged 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and three assists per game during her one season in Lexington with the Wildcats.
Miles released a statement when she entered the portal, thanking former head coach Kyra Elzy for the opportunity but announcing that she would seek to continue her career elsewhere.
While Miles will have the option to return to Kentucky if she chooses, her decision to enter the portal after the hiring of head coach Kenny Brooks as opposed to before sees her situation being different than that of those who entered before her.
Amiya Jenkins:
While it took her a little longer to join her teammates in the portal, sophomore Amiya Jenkins made herself the eighth Wildcat to depart from the program following Elzy’s termination.
Jenkins’ departs from the Bluegrass after serving two years in a Kentucky jersey, with the Kentucky native’s freshman season seeing her average just over three points and eight minutes a game.
She would earn a larger role heading into her sophomore campaign, averaging 22 minutes and, at times, finding herself in the starting lineup as she doubled her production in every statistic.
Unlike other Wildcats, Jenkins announced her decision to head for shinier shores after the hiring of Kenny Brooks instead of directly after the end of the Cat’s season, making a return to Lexington for Jenkins unlikely.
Who’s new:
Georgia Amoore:
Kentucky gained a massive commitment on Thursday, April 4, when former Virginia Tech star Georgia Amoore chose to transfer to Kentucky over entering the WNBA Draft.
Amoore will join recently hired head coach Kenny Brooks, who coached the Australian native for four years at Virginia Tech as the pair led the Hokies to the program’s first Final Four appearance last year and Amelia Hassett.
Virginia Tech also celebrated its first ACC Championship last year after a performance that earned Amoore First Team All-ACC Tournament honors and also saw her named Tournament MVP.
To go along with all the hardware she’s won during her time as a Hokie, Amoore will depart as the program’s all-time leader in assists while ranking third in scoring as she never averaged below 11 points during her entire Virginia Tech career.
Amoore is coming off a senior campaign that saw her average career-highs in both points and assists and, with a familiar face at the helm of Kentucky women’s basketball, it doesn’t seem like those numbers will drop anytime soon.
Amelia Hassett:
Kentucky women’s basketball gained its first addition of the Kenny Brooks era as 6-foot, 3-inch Australian forward Amelia Hassett announced via Instagram that she would be committing to Kentucky on Thursday, April 4.
Hassett played two seasons at Eastern Florida State College before committing to transfer to Virginia Tech, where Kentucky’s newly hired head coach Kenny Brooks recruited her. After Brooks packed his bags and left for Lexington, Hassett decided to follow.
The Australian averaged 19 points through 32 games played this season with the Eastern Florida State Titans while managing to shoot 40.4% from deep.
The season prior, Hassett started in 33 of the 35 contests where she averaged 8.9 points per game while shooting 51.1% from the field.
Clara Strack:
Kentucky women’s basketball head coach Kenny Brooks is bringing another player from his former team, this time in the form of 6-foot, 5-inch center Clara Strack.
Strack was recruited by the newly-hired Brooks out of high school, where she earned all-conference honors in the Erie County Interscholastic Conference, a 29-school league in western New York state. Strack also earned all-region and all-state awards, even setting records for most points in a game (47), season and career.
In her freshman season at Virginia Tech, Strack played in all 33 games and started twice at center, with both of those starts being in the NCAA Tournament.
In the first round against Marshall, Strack was 7-7 from the field and finished with 17 points in a 43-point drubbing of the Thundering Herd. Two days later against Baylor, she had 18 points and 10 rebounds in her first career double-double.
On the season, Strack averaged 4.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, with her career high 19 points against Houston Christian on November 16th.
Lexi Blue:
Kentucky gained the commitment of an important recruit in the form of Lexi Blue, who flipped her commitment from Virginia Tech to Lexington on April 5.
Blue, a 6-foot, 2-inch guard is the No. 38 recruit in the class of 2024 and had committed to play for head coach Kenny Brooks in Blacksburg before deciding to follow him to the Bluegrass State.
She is a four-star prospect out of Orlando, Florida. She is the first freshman commit brought over to Lexington by Brooks and the fourth player the new man in charge has gotten to flip from Virginia Tech to Kentucky.
Who may be contacted:
Gabby Brooks:
While she wouldn’t appear in a game during her freshman year at Virginia Tech and would earn a redshirt in the process, there was little doubt that Gabby Brooks, the daughter of recently hired Kentucky women’s basketball head coach Kenny Brooks, will follow her father to the Bluegrass.
Brooks played the entirety of her high school career at Blacksburg High School in Blacksburg, Virginia, where she competed in both basketball and volleyball and will now likely look to play a role as a Wildcat.
