Tag: Kentucky women’s basketball

Kentucky women’s basketball is named a dark horse by ESPN’s Holly Rowe

Kentucky women’s basketball was named a dark horse team by ESPN’s Holly Rowe.

Kentucky women’s basketball has suffered through a couple of tough seasons, but went out and hired a top notch new head coach in Kenny Brooks. He came over from Virginia Tech, where he has had quite a bit of success.

When Brooks came over, he brought with him a couple of terrific players in Georgia Amoore and Clara Strack. Amoore, in particular, was a huge addition, bringing experience and a proven record of solid play. Most considered the Wildcats to be a team with a bright future.

Related: Georgia Amoore named a top 100 player

One analyst thinks Kentucky could compete sooner than expected. While on Good Game with Sarah Spain, ESPN’s Holly Rowe had plenty of praise for Brooks and the Wildcats. She had this to say about the new-look Kentucky team:

I don’t know how dark horse this is, but Kentucky. They have a new coach. Kenny [Brooks] is there, he came from Virginia Tech. He got Virginia Tech to the women’s Final Four, and they have a transfer in Georgia Amoore who was one of the key point guards in that run that helped them get to the Final Four.

The season started off with a bang for Kentucky, as they blew out SC Upstate. It’s too early to tell how they’ll do as the season goes on, but fans certainly hope Rowe is right about the Wildcats.

Clara Strack shines as Kentucky women’s basketball opens the season with a win

Kentucky women’s basketball begins their season with a win over SC Upstate 98 – 43.

Mark Pope wasn’t the only new Kentucky coach to make his debut on Monday. Kenny Brooks began his career as the Kentucky women’s basketball coach as well, and his team was equally impressive against SC Upstate, winning 98 – 43.

All eyes were on Georgia Amoore, the All-SEC point guard, and she played as well as expected, with 11 points and 10 assists. She added six rebounds as well, and was the leader on the floor.

Related: Georgia Amoore named a top 100 player by ESPN

The other Virginia Tech transfer, Clara Strack, was the star of the game, however. The Sophomore was 7-of-11 from the floor and scored 22 points to lead the Wildcats. She also had six rebounds.

In all, five of Kentucky’s players scored in double figures. Defensively, they held SC Upstate to just 29% shooting, and no player in double digits in points.

Kentucky will play Northern Kentucky next. That will be on November seventh at 6:00 PM.

Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore named a top 100 player by ESPN

Kentucky point guard Georgia Amoore was named by ESPN as a top 100 women’s college basketball player.

Kentucky women’s basketball star Georgia Amoore transferred over from Virginia Tech, following coach Kenny Brooks. She was expected to be one of the leaders for the Wildcats, and was one of the biggest transfer wins this offeseason.

Recently, Amoore has received praise as the season gets ready to begin. She was voted a first-team All-SEC guard by both the media and by the coaches. Now, she’s been named a top 100 player by ESPN.

Related: Kentucky ranked in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

A group of analysts put together a list of the top 100 women’s college basketball players for the 2024-25 season, and Amoore came in at number 11. Here’s what they had to say about her:

Amoore had a decorated four-year run at Virginia Tech, where she was the ACC tournament MVP and led the school to its first Final Four in 2023, then earned third-team All-America honors in 2024. Amoore announced she was returning for a fifth year — and then joined former Hokies coach Kenny Brooks at Kentucky, which has been an afterthought in the SEC since Rhyne Howard graduated. How the point guard adjusts to new teammates (and to not having Elizabeth Kitley) and a new league is one of the bigger storylines to monitor this season. — Philippou

Amoore is the fifth player from the SEC on the list. She’s the only Kentucky player in the top 100.

Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore was voted as first-team All-SEC by coaches

Kentucky women’s basketball guard Georgia Amoore was voted by the coaches as All-SEC.

The honors keep stacking up for Kentucky women’s basketball player Georgia Amoore. After being named as an All-SEC player by the media, she has now, once again, been voted as a first-team All-SEC player, this time by the coaches.

Amoore transferred to Kentucky this offseason after spending the previous four seasons at Virginia Tech. There, she played under Kenny Brooks, and thrived, winning numerous awards, including being named an All-American last season.

Related: Kentucky women ranked in Coaches Poll

Last season, Amoore averaged 18.8 points per game, and also set a career high with 6.8 assists per game. When Brooks was named as the new Wildcats coach, she decided to join him in Lexington for a final collegiate season.

Amoore is not only expected to be a leader at Kentucky, but she’s expected to be one of the best point guards in the country. It’s only the preseason, but fans should be excited.

Kentucky is ranked in the women’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Kentucky women’s basketball begins the year ranked 22nd in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

On Wednesday, the first USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was released, and Kentucky basketball came in ranked 23rd. A day later, the women’s Coaches Poll is out, and the Kentucky women’s team is ranked as well at number 22.

Much like Mark Pope, coach Kenny Brooks is in his first season with the Wildcats, and had to build a roster from the top down. He brought in a number of transfers, along with a few Freshman additions to do so.

Related: Kentucky women ranked in AP Top 25

Georgia Amoore was among the big names Brooks brought with him from Virginia Tech. She is a preseason All-SEC player, and brings experience in Brooks’ offense, and leadership. She’s surrounded with plenty of talent, though, as well.

Kentuck’s number 22 ranking is a solid start for the team. They’re the sixth of seven SEC teams to make the top 25. South Carolina is at the top, with the Texas Longhorns, LSU Tigers, and Oklahoma Sooners also in the top 10.

Here is the full top 25:

 

Rank School (Last Year’s Record) Points First Place Votes
1 South Carolina (38-0) 770 27
2 Connecticut (33-6) 734 3
3 Southern California (29-6) 716 1
4 Texas (33-5) 670 –
5 Notre Dame (28-7) 629 –
6 UCLA (27-7) 612 –
7 LSU (31-6) 567 –
8 North Carolina State (31-7) 533 –
9 Iowa State (21-12) 487 –
10 Oklahoma (23-10) 457 –
11 Duke (22-12) 449 –
12 Baylor (26-8) 434 –
13 Kansas State (26-8) 407 –
14 Ohio State (26-6) 405 –
15 West Virginia (25-8) 285 –
16 North Carolina (20-13) 263 –
17 Louisville (24-10) 261 –
18 Maryland (19-14) 254 –
19 Florida State (23-11) 177 –
20 Creighton (26-6) 150 –
21 Mississippi (24-9) 135 –
22 Kentucky (12-20) 106 –
23 Nebraska (23-12) 92 –
24 Indiana (26-6) 75 –
25 Alabama (24-10) 57 –

Georgia Amoore was voted to the preseason All-SEC team

Kentucky women’s basketball landed guard Georgia Amoore on the preseason All-SEC team.

The Kentucky women’s basketball team has gotten some positive attention from the media in recent days. Earlier in the week, they were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll, coming in at number 22. Now, one of coach Kenny Brooks’ players, Georgia Amoore, received an individual honor.

Amoore was voted to the All-SEC team by the media, and received a first-team nod. She is expected to be one of the leaders of the Wildcats, and one of the SEC’s better players.

Related: Kentucky in the final three for 2025 guard ZaKiyah Johnson

Amoore came over to Kentucky this offseason from Virginia Tech, following her coach. Last season, with the Hokies, she averaged 18.8 points and 6.8 assists per game on her way to be coming their all-time assists leader.

Bringing Amoore over with him was a big win for Brooks and Kentucky. She brings leadership and plenty of experience, but she also brings a ton of talent. The season is just around the corner, and fans will soon get to see just how good she is.

Kentucky is in the final three for a five-star guard in 2025

Kentucky women’s basketball makes the final three for 2025 recruit ZaKiyah Johnson.

There has been a lot of news recently concerning Mark Pope and the Kentucky men’s basketball team and their recruiting. However, the Kentucky women’s basketball team and coach Kenny Brooks got some good recruiting news on Tuesday.

Guard ZaKiyah Johnson named her final three schools, and Kentucky is on that list. The other schools are Louisville and the LSU Tigers. She is set to make her decision on November first, according to 247sports.

Related: Kentucky women’s basketball 22nd in AP Top 25

Johnson is a 6’0″ wing out of Kentucky. She is rated four stars by 247sports and is ranked as the number 12 player overall in the class of 2025. She’s number nine overall in their composite rankings.

Coach Brooks has done a terrific job so far in building a competitive roster for this season, and has several top recruits in his sights for next year. Keeping Johnson in the state of Kentucky would be a terrific get for the 2025 class.

Kentucky women’s basketball is ranked in the preseason AP Top 25

Kentucky women’s basketball will start the season ranked 22nd in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.

One day after the Kentucky men’s basketball team came in at number 23 in the AP Top 25, the Kentucky women’s basketball team shows up on the preseason AP Top 25 poll as well.

The Wildcats, and new coach Kenny Brooks come in at number 22 in the poll, one spot higher than the men’s team. They are the sixth ranked team out of the SEC in the poll, with South Carolina at the top.

Related: Analysts predict where Kentucky will finish in the SEC

Like Mark Pope, Kenny Brooks enters his first season as the coach at Kentucky. He also assembled his team with several transfers which will play a big role for the 2024-25 squad. It does have a lot of veteran leadership, however, which will come in handy in March.

This season will be an interesting one for Brooks and company. Preseason polls are fun to look at, but have no real bearing on the season. For now, however, the voters have some respect for what Kentucky has put together. Fans will have to see how it plays out.