With basketball season on the horizon in the Bluegrass, Kentucky women’s basketball hopes to make a statement in its upcoming season.
This year, the team looks to improve from its 12-19 record that saw it make the Quarterfinals in the SEC Tournament before falling short of the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats lost three graduate students in the off-season but had plenty of success within the transfer portal, giving them lots of new talent to work with.
The Cats also picked up a four-star out of California, who they hope will make big moves in her freshman season.
With plenty of fresh players and senior veterans, the Wildcats will hope to make the first NCAA Tournament run post-Rhyne Howard.
Meet the Team:
0 – Brooklynn Miles
Year: Junior
Hometown: Frankfort, Kentucky
Position: Guard
2021-2023 Stats:
– 1.8 points-per-game (PPG)
– 2.1 rebounds-per-game (RPG)
– 1.5 assists-per-game (APG)
About: Miles, a Tennessee transfer, played in 56 games in her two seasons with the Vols. As a freshman, she averaged 19.5 minutes and was a one-time SEC Freshman of the Week, finishing third for Tennessee in steals. In her sophomore year, Miles shot 46.7% from the field, playing in 23 games. With both high speed and intensity, she keeps pressure on opponents on both sides of the court. There is little hesitation for her to get in the play and make an impact and her tough defense style will likely be key for the Cats.
Fun Fact: Miles was named 2021 Miss Kentucky Basketball and 2021 Gatorade Player of the Year following her high school senior season.
2 – Saniah Tyler
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Florissant, Missouri
Position: Guard
2022-2023 Stats:
– 0.7 PPG
– 0.2 RPG
– zero APG
About: Tyler’s competitive spirit and toughness has her expected to be a leader for the team as a returning sophomore. In high school, she led her team to an 85-4 record and two state titles. Making her college debut against Morehead State, she played a career-high of six minutes, sinking her first 3-pointer as a Cat. Tyler will likely play a crucial role in helping the team develop with her knowledge of the floor and ability to balance the game both independently and as a piece of a larger team.
Fun Fact: In the state quarterfinals, she scored 21 points and led a comeback victory over Columbia Rock Bridge to punch her Incarnate Word Academy Red Knights’ ticket back to the Final Four.
3 – Jordy Griggs
Year: Freshman
Hometown: Moreno Valley, California
Position: Guard
2021-2022 Stats (High School Junior):
– 21.0 PPG
– 9.6 RPG
– 2.3 APG
About: Standing at 6 feet, 2 inches tall, Griggs is expected to make an immediate impact in the program because of her size, length and versatility. She has extreme athleticism and runs with high energy, demonstrating an ability to perform on both sides of the ball. Offensively, she creates scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates, and she can rebound well as a defender, with her relentlessness adding to her success. The four-star prospect was a state champion her senior year, named 2022 She Got Game Classic MVP and, in 2021, was invited to the USA U16 Trials, WOOTTEN Top 150 Camp and the Steph Curry Underrated Camp. With a 91 scouting grade, according to ESPN, it is easy to say that Griggs could make her presence known early.
Fun Fact: She played at four high schools in four years.
4 – Eniya Russell
Year: Senior
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Position: Guard
2022-2023 Stats:
– 3.7 PPG
– 1.5 RPG
– 1.0 APG
About: A transfer from South Carolina, Russell looks to continue her success for her second year with the Wildcats. In her first year in Lexington, she played in 23 games, combining for nine steals and six blocks and demonstrated athleticism on the court. Russell went 2-2 in the SEC Tournament second round against Alabama, with her offensive talent helping UK to defeat the Crimson Tide. Against Ohio, she scored a season-high of 14 points, adding four rebounds and three assists to her record. Russell will likely be both an offensive and defensive weapon for the Wildcats in the upcoming season.
Fun Fact: She was ranked as the No. 43 overall recruit in the class of 2020 by ESPN.
5 – Cassidy Rowe
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Virgie, Kentucky
Position: Guard
2022-2023 Stats:
– 0.5 PPG
– 0.2 RPG
– 0.3 APG
About: The Kentucky native played in 13 games her freshman season, averaging around 4.1 minutes per game. A fan favorite amongst the Wildcat faithful, she has proven herself as a team leader for the Cats and, with a strong work ethic, is expected to be a player that others look up to. Rowe brings depth to the guard position, which will be crucial for the Cats this season. She will likely be key on defense thanks to her willingness to take charges and be a team player. Her toughness is a big piece of what makes her special to the team, and that’s something it surely plans to use to its advantage in the upcoming season.
Fun Fact: Rowe verbally committed to Kentucky during her freshman year of high school.
13 – Ajae Petty
Year: Senior
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Position: Forward
2022-2023 Stats:
– 5.7 PPG
– 4.7 RPG
– 0.6 RPG
About: Petty will be expected to have big numbers for her senior year after being a key addition to the Wildcat’s roster in the 2022-2023 season from LSU. She is skillful around the basket, tallying up 166 points in 29 games with Kentucky and scoring in double digits for six straight games. She shows athleticism up and down the floor, holding the second highest number of rebounds on the team this past season, leading the Cats with seven rebounds against No. 1 South Carolina. With Petty’s experience, she is likely to have a key leadership role for the program and play a big part in the success of the Cats this season.
Fun Fact: She was No. 1 post player and No. 16 overall player in the Next Sports Phenom Class of 2020 Top 100 ranking.
20 – Amiya Jenkins
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky
Position: Guard
2022-2023 Stats:
– 3.2 PPG
– 1.3 RPG
– 0.3 APG
About: In high school, Jenkins led her team to an impressive 30-5 record during her senior season. As a junior, she was named the 2021 MaxPreps Kentucky Player of the Year. Jenkins also received the title of Miss Kentucky Basketball in 2022. As a rookie, she played in 26 games, recording five rebounds and tying for a career-high three assists during a game against Florida in the first round of the 2023 SEC Tournament. ESPN named her a four-star prospect, which ranks her 31st out of 94th in her position.
Fun Fact: Like many current college students, Jenkins’ playing career was impacted by COVID-19 when she helped her Anderson County Bearcats to the KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16 as a sophomore before the tournament was canceled because of the pandemic. At Big Blue Madness Jenkins showed out, dropping nine points from beyond the arch, leading her team to a 20-6 exhibition victory.
21 – Nyah Leveretter
Year: Senior
Hometown: Blythewood, South Carolina
Position: Forward
2022-2023 Stats:
– 2.5 PPG
– 3.9 RPG
– 0.2 APG
About: Leveretter led Kentucky in blocks during seven games last season. She has also set multiple career highs for herself, including 11 rebounds against Auburn, eight points against Missouri and three assists against Georgia. She played in 26 games during the 2022-2023 season prior to sustaining a torn ACL. Leveretter has also been appointed to the 2023-2024 NCAA Division-I Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete Engagement Group.
Fun Fact: Leveretter was born on Fort Campbell Military Base on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
22 – Maddie Scherr
Year: Senior
Hometown: Florence, Kentucky
Position: Guard
2022-2023 Stats
– 11.6 PPG
– 5.1 RPG
– 4.3 APG
About: Scherr was a five-star recruit coming out of high school and was named Miss Kentucky Basketball in 2020. As a senior, she was ranked No. 19 in the nation and was named the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year in both her junior and senior years. She played her first two years of college basketball at Oregon, where she played in 53 games and averaged 3.7 points per game, 2.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds. She transferred to Kentucky for her 2022-2023 junior season and has brought leadership ability and veteran experience to the team.
Fun Fact: Scherr graduated from Ryle High School as the Raiders’ all-time scoring leader while also leading the school to a state championship.
24 – Zennia Thomas
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Lyndhurst, Ohio
Position: Forward
2022-2023 Stats:
– 0.9 PPG
– 0.7 RPG
– 0.1 APG
About: Thomas was named Ohio Division-III First-Team All-Ohio after averaging 30.6 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in high school. Her impressive skills helped her lead Warrensville High School to its first regional final in the school’s history. Thomas made her collegiate career debut against Morehead State. In her freshman year, she played 10 games and averaged 4.4 minutes per game.
Fun Fact: Thomas picked UK over Purdue. She recorded her first rebound in UK’s game against Coastal Carolina.
34 – Emma King
Year: Graduate Student
Hometown: Stanford, Kentucky
Position: Guard
2022-2023 Stats:
– 1.3 PPG
– 0.5 RPG
– 0.58 APG
About: Emma King played in 24 games and started in two last season as a senior. She scored three points against Missouri and made a noticeable impact in numerous other games. She scored two points against Arkansas and had two blocks, a rebound and a steal. Her defensive skills have a significant impact on the team and she seems to continue to improve every season.
Fun Fact: King grew up as a Kentucky fan, with playing for the Wildcats having been a lifelong dream of hers.
44 – Janae Walker
Year: Freshman
Hometown: Tyrone, Georgia
Position: Forward
2022-2023 Stats (high school):
– 20.3 PPG
– 14.8 RPG
– 1.2 APG
About: Walker was a star player at Sandy Creek High School and a powerful addition to the team this season. She is best known for her rebounding and shot blocking but is also talented down the court. In high school, she had 1,000 career points, finishing second in the state in scoring. She led her high school to win a Georgia High School Association Region Five Championship and was named GHSA Class 3A Best Rebounder.
Fun Fact: Walker chose to attend the University of Kentucky over other notable schools like Syracuse, Wisconsin and Southern California.
