Head coach Kenny Brooks has landed his third transfer this offseason for Kentucky women’s basketball, picking up star forward Me’Arah O’Neal.

O’Neal, a sophomore, formerly played for Florida and averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game over 33 starts last season. The forwards also shot 52.9% from the field and 38.1% from the 3-point range.

Coming into her collegiate career, O’Neal was a top-50 ranked recruit in the country, and the third ranked recruit out of Texas.

The sophomore also participated in the 2025 USA Basketball 3X Nationals.

Whenever the Cats faced the Gators in the regular season, O’Neal posted 23 points and four rebounds in 50% shooting from the field. Kentucky pushed to hold off Florida 94-89 in the thriller in Memorial Coliseum.

The sophomore is also the daughter of basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal.

Word of the McDonald’s All-American’s interest in Kentucky, alongside Miami and Virginia, was initially reported by On3’s Talia Goodman. O’Neal entered the transfer portal on April 14.

With O’Neal’s commitment to Kentucky, the Wildcats finally have landed a frontcourt piece to play in tandem with center Clara Strack. The Cats’ first transfer of the offseason was UConn’s Ayanna Patterson, followed by Alabama transfer Diana Collins.

In Brooks’ vision to highlight his superstar center, O’Neal is one of the best grabs from the portal he could have secured. The 6-foot-4 post player will be filling the void left by Teonni Key, and is the first big to join the roster that is expected to produce high-volume numbers.

The addition comes after Kentucky was placed at No. 14 of ESPN’s Charlie Creme’s Way-T00-Early 2026-27 Top 25 rankings, and is sure to give the Cats an extra edge in its upcoming roster.

With this commitment, the only remaining gap from last season is a playmaking point guard to replace draft pick Tonie Morgan.