Who’s staying, who could be leaving for Kentucky women’s basketball this offseason
Kenny Brooks’ inaugural season came to a close Sunday afternoon in front of a packed Memorial Coliseum. The No. 4-seed Wildcats (23-8) lost 80-79 to No. 5-seed Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament — the program’s first round- of-32 appearance since 2021 — an overtime heartbreaker that put a cap on a season which not only returned Kentucky women’s basketball to the national stage, but offered a glimpse of the heights to which Brooks aims to lift it.
Following the game, Brooks expressed his gratitude to both his team and to the fan base, and celebrated the fact that, this year, “We built a foundation.” “Big Blue Nation was terrific tonight,” Brooks said. “They were loud. They got to witness a great basketball game. I think we’re going to build off of that. It’s been a terrific year. I love Lexington. I love what Big Blue Nation is willing to pour into women’s sports. So I think it’s something for us to be excited about, and overall I think it was a success. It was a lot of fun.”
With only Cassidy Rowe and Saniah Tyler opting to return Lexington upon the firing of former head coach Kyra Elzy, Brooks took a program that had only six conference wins over the previous two seasons, and revitalized it. From Virginia Tech, he brought with him All-America point guard Georgia Amoore and rising star center Clara Strack, plus his daughter Gabby, and flipped Hokies signees Amelia Hassett, Lexi Blue and Clara Silva. Brooks then went out and signed Dazia Lawrence, Teonni Key, Jordan Obi and Dominika Paurová, and retained Elzy commit Tanah Becker.
With this reworked roster — and 11 new coaches and staffers — Brooks posted five ranked victories, oversaw the rewriting of several program records, sold out reserved season tickets and four additional games. Amoore and Strack highlighted a starting lineup in which everybody elevated in one way or another, and Brooks earned commitments from a pair of five-star prospects set to join the Wildcats over the next two years — including 6-foot-3 wing Kaelyn Carroll from Massachusetts, the No. 15 overall prospect in the class of 2025 and a McDonald’s All-American. All that said: Who’s coming back for year two of the Kenny Brooks era?
At the time of the writing of this article, the only known is that the program must say goodbye to Amoore and Lawrence, each of whom used their final year of eligibility this season. The team also faces its first potential departures by choice: Clara Silva, the Wildcats’ 6-foot-7 freshman from Portugal, has reportedly entered the NCAA transfer portal. Junior guard Saniah Tyler said Tuesday she was entering the portal as well.
Amoore was named a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award, a semifinalist for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s Player of the Year and put on the ballot for the John R. Wooden Award, in addition to being named the SEC Newcomer of the Year and an All-SEC first-teamer, among other accolades. After helping establish a Final Four-caliber culture in four seasons in Blacksburg, Amoore did it again in just one year with the Wildcats. She even broke the decades-old record held by UK legend Patty Jo Hedges for single-season assists (210), a mark that had not been touched since 1981-82, and is projected to be a first-round pick in the April 14 WNBA draft.
Lawrence chose to follow former Charlotte assistant Ciara Gregory to Lexington after a successful career with the 49ers. Though she had to adapt to a new role with the Wildcats, her usage rate and shooting percentage have never been higher, as she averaged 46.2% shooting from the field, including nearly 40% from 3-point range. In her fifth and final season of college basketball, Lawrence was an energy source for her fellow Wildcats, and averaged 12.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 33.3 minutes per contest.
It’s an emotional time for us right now,” Brooks said after Sunday’s loss. “Obviously these two young ladies beside me represent everything that we stand for. So to see this season come to an end, it’s a little disappointing. Regardless, it was a heck of a year.
It was one of the more enjoyable seasons I’ve ever been a part of, and a large part was because of their leadership.” The transfer portal officially opened for college basketball players on Monday. Amoore said she issued a statement to her teammates with remaining eligibility following Sunday’s game, and encouraged them to stick around.
“I told the girls,” Amoore said. “‘It’s up to you, whatever you decide, but hang around because it’s only going to go up from here.
’ It’s an attractive style of play. Coach Brooks proves that he’s a winner.” Here’s a breakdown of each of the 11 Wildcats with remaining eligibility, how they fared this season and what the future might hold.
The starters
Key, Hassett and Strack each hold additional eligibility, and will probably continue their paths as primary producers for the Wildcats next season.
Strack, just a sophomore, was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, an All-SEC second-team selection and a semifinalist for the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award. Next season’s presumptive leading scorer, Brooks holds Strack to a high standard, and called her “one of the toughest kids that I’ve ever coached,” following a perfect-from-the-field performance in UK’s rout of Tennessee on Feb. 27. Ahead of the NCAA Tournament, Brooks spoke to Strack’s versatility.
Clara Strack is a Defensive Player of the Year for a reason,” Brooks said. “She anchors our defense for a reason. She talks, she communicates, she makes plays, and she’s also probably the best passing post player in the country. The way that she reads defenses and does so many different things for us. She scores at a very unique clip because it’s not just low block, it’s like she’s all around the floor and been able to score. So it’s hard to guard.”
From a sudden uptick in responsibility in the final games of her freshman season at Virginia Tech after an ACL tear prematurely ended All-America center Liz Kitley’s collegiate career to one of the most promising posts in Division I basketball, Strack called her sophomore season a special experience, particularly due to the way the team managed to overcome the reduced timeline and come out stronger for it.
“I think the way that we all came in here completely not knowing each other and the bond we formed fast,” Strack said. “And the way we were able to play together fast was really special.”
This season, the 6-5 center reset the program record for blocked shots in a single season (73), and averaged 15.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 blocks in 31.7 minutes across the Wildcats’ 31 contests. She recorded 13 double-doubles, and delivered a career-high 25 points and 15 rebounds against Illinois on Nov. 27, her 19th birthday — a reminder that, in terms of her on-court development, Strack has only scratched the surface.
Key, a former top-10 prospect and a 2021 McDonald’s All-American, made her way to Lexington after a torn ACL sustained ahead of her freshman campaign (and its recovery process) sidelined her off and on through three years at North Carolina. The redshirt junior never rose to the expectations associated with her high school résumé — until a new chapter at Kentucky brought new perspective and a breakout season.
Key more than doubled her previous best across multiple statistical categories, and averaged 11.4 points on 50.4% shooting, while also growing more comfortable beyond the arc after not making a single 3-pointer during her time at UNC. Key also averaged 8.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.7 blocks in 28.1 minutes across 31 games; the 6-4 forward posted 12 double-doubles this season, including a 13-point, 15-rebound, two-steal, three-block performance against Kansas State on Sunday.
“When Teonni Key plays well, we play well,” Brooks said. “And we need her production and need her consistency because she adds something that is very, very unique to women’s basketball. You have a 6-4 supposed to be a post player, but she can grab a rebound and go coast-to-coast and get a layup in a fashion that looks as pretty as any guard.”
Hassett arrived in Lexington after two seasons with junior college program Eastern Florida State, and fit perfectly in Brooks’ system as a strong shooter and determined rebounder. Hassett’s hustle and height, standing 6-3, made her a helpful force on both ends of the floor this season. She made 6 of 10 long-range attempts in UK’s Jan. 5 victory at Vanderbilt, recording 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and averaged 8.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.3 blocks in 33.1 minutes across 31 contests. Her production faltered as the team moved further through SEC play, but Hassett said the continued building of her confidence was a key part of this season.
“Having the support behind me definitely helped,” Hassett said. “Just building my confidence off that, I think that was the main thing.” Brooks highlighted her strengths as a defender and reminded that Hassett always gets handed the most difficult defensive assignment. “She had a really good year for us,” Brooks said. “Sometimes we focus on what she didn’t do down the stretch, but when you’ve had to guard the best player on the other team for a whole year, maybe something is going to get sacrificed. Maybe you don’t have legs to shoot. But when she’s playing well, if she hits two, three, four 3s in a game, we’re pretty much unbeatable.”
One more year? Junior guards Rowe and Tyler’s patience and loyalty were rewarded this season during UK’s complete reconstruction; after a combined overall record of 24-39 (6-26 SEC) through their freshman and sophomore seasons, the duo nearly matched their career win total in just one year under Brooks.
However, the transition did involve a significant step back in production from last season — a shift that, according to Brooks, never affected either junior’s attitude. After playing a total of 25 minutes during her freshman season, Tyler averaged 10.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.7 steals in 26.6 minutes per game during the 2023-24 campaign, in addition to ranking within the conference’s top 10 for made 3-pointers (1.9 per game) during the regular season.
This year, Tyler averaged 12.3 minutes across 26 games, and saw her role elevate during the SEC schedule; Tyler clocked double-digit minutes only twice during the nonconference slate, but did so in all but four games after the start of conference play. Primarily used as an off-ball option, she averaged 2.3 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 0.3 steals this season.
Following UK’s loss to Kansas State, Tyler called the opportunity to host in the NCAA Tournament “a great experience,” and that, this year, she worked on staying confident and positive, always ready to go when her number was called. “I’ve never gotten a chance to be a part of something this big,” Tyler said. “So it was just a good feeling.” Despite Kentucky’s successes this season, Tyler is exploring her options. The Florissant, Missouri, native has entered the transfer portal.
