Kentucky women’s basketball has finished the regular season but its time on the court is far from over.
The nation eagerly awaits one of the most anticipated nights each year in college sports: the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket reveal.
Across the Bluegrass, all eyes are on Kenny Brooks and his team and whether or not they can rise to the occasion in March Madness.
The Brooks era has proven far more successful than anyone could’ve imagined in year one. He led the Wildcats to a 22-6 record and an 11-5 SEC record, the most regular-season wins for the program since 2019-2020.
Brooks also led Kentucky to impressive victories over its two biggest rivals: No. 18 Louisville and No. 15 Tennessee.
He also curated a nationally recognized roster, including future WNBA first-round pick and Nancy Lieberman Award finalist Georgia Amoore who was recently named the SEC Newcomer of the Year and selected as All-SEC first team.
He also found a star in Clara Strack who was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and selected for the SEC All-Defensive first team and All-SEC second team.
Despite a season filled with triumphs, last week’s bitter defeat against Oklahoma in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals left a lingering sense of doubt heading into March Madness.
This season has been a year of firsts for Brooks, who is navigating the SEC, which is considered to be one of the toughest conferences in women’s basketball history.
While Brooks has had success against SEC teams in the past—boasting an 8-4 record during his time at Virginia Tech— he has never faced top-ten teams back-to-back-to-back like he has this season.
Luckily, he is now tasked to compete in something he has become very familiar with throughout his 22 seasons as head coach: The NCAA Tournament and March Madness.
Between 2003 and 2016, Brooks coached at his alma mater, James Madison, where he became the winningest coach in program history and was inducted into the JMU Athletics Hall of Fame.
More importantly, Brooks began to build a postseason resume, guiding JMU to six NCAA Tournament appearances and, in 2013, its first NCAA Tournament victory since 1991.
Brooks’ resume grew when he moved to Virginia Tech in 2016, leading the Hokies to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
His greatest achievement came two years ago when he led Tech to its first-ever ACC Conference Championship and a historic Final Four appearance defeating Chattanooga, South Dakota State, Tennessee and Ohio State.
Brooks is not the only Wildcat chasing another historic run in March Madness. Amoore, who starred under Brooks at Tech, led the Hokies’ Elite Eight victory over Tennessee with 29 points and five assists. She also holds the NCAA Tournament record for most 3-pointers made in a single tournament, with 23, breaking the record in the Final Four against LSU.
Strack also had her moment in the postseason spotlight, stepping up to the challenge when it mattered the most and filling in for Tech’s future WNBA second-round pick after she suffered a torn ACL in the team’s regular-season finale.
The Buffalo, New York native stunned the nation in the first round of March Madness with a perfect 7-7 shooting performance and 17 points in her first-ever collegiate start. While the Hokies would fall short to Baylor in the second round, Strack recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.
With their eyes set on securing a spot in the top 16 to potentially host the first two rounds of the tournament at Historic Memorial Coliseum, Brooks and his Cats, led by his two former Hokies and a team of talented players, are more than capable of a historic run in March Madness and bringing a first NCAA Tournament victory to Kentucky since 2021 and possibly a first second weekend since 2016.
