Former Kentucky star Maddie Scherr announces new school for final season of eligibility

Maddie Scherr, Kentucky women’s basketball’s second-leading scorer for the past two seasons and the 2020 Miss Kentucky Basketball honoree, will spend her final season of eligibility elsewhere.

Scherr announced via social media Thursday that she’ll be transferring to Texas Christian University of the Big 12 Conference.

Scherr was first reported to have entered the transfer portal on March 18, the first day of the portal’s opt-in period, but did not issue a public statement about her departure from Kentucky until Thursday.

This past season, Scherr averaged 12.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while leading the team in assists (3.4) and steals (1.6) per contest over the course of 26 games; she missed four non-conference games with an ankle injury, and did not suit up for the Wildcats during the 2024 SEC Tournament because she was in concussion protocol.

A star at Ryle High School in Union, Scherr spent her first two seasons with Oregon before making her way to Lexington ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. She is Kentucky girls’ high school basketball’s most recent McDonald’s All-American and first since Erin Boley (Elizabethtown High School) in 2016. Scherr’s jersey was retired by the Raiders in January of this year.

After reports that Scherr was considering transferring to Iowa, the 5-foot-10 guard announced Thursday that she would complete her college basketball career at TCU.

The Horned Frogs went 21-12 overall in 2023-24 and finished ninth in the 14-team Big 12 with a 6-12 mark. TCU, coached by Mark Campbell, qualified for the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament this postseason and beat North Texas in the first round before being eliminated by Mississippi State.

This came after the team was forced to cancel two games in January because of a player shortage resulting from a series of injuries. Campbell held open tryouts to fill out the roster and ended up adding three walk-ons and a Horned Frogs volleyball player.

At TCU, Scherr will team up with a former rival. Former Louisville and LSU standout Hailey van Lith also committed Thursday to play next season in Fort Worth.

Leading scorer and rebounder Sedona Prince is returning for her final season and will be one of the best bigs in the country. The 6-7 center averaged 19.7 points and 9.7 rebounds this past season. Madison Conner, who averaged 19.2 points and shot 39 percent from 3, also returns for her senior season.

Scherr is the third Wildcat to announce a portal destination, following a busy Monday where leading scorer Ajae Petty committed to Ohio State and senior guard Eniya Russell committed to Mississippi State. Junior point guard Brooklynn Miles and freshmen Jordy Griggs and Janaé Walker have all announced their intentions to transfer, but have not yet declared their destinations.

Senior forward Nyah Leveretter and junior guard Amiya Jenkins have yet to make any public statement regarding their future plans, but are not listed on the Wildcats’ online roster for the 2024-25 season.

New head coach Kenny Brooks, whose hiring was announced March 26, has signed three transfers so far — All-America graduate point guard Georgia Amoore and 6-foot-5 freshman center Clara Strack from Virginia Tech and 6-4 redshirt sophomore forward Teonni Key.

Three former Virginia Tech commitments in the 2024 recruiting class have also declared for UK — 6-2 guard Lexi Blue of Lake Highland (Florida) Prep (ranked No. 40 nationally by espnW), 6-3 forward Amelia Hassett of Eastern Florida State College and 6-7 international prospect Clara Silva.

The team also announced the signing of 6-1 wing Tanah Becker of Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Thursday. Becker verbally committed to former UK head coach Kyra Elzy on Feb. 26, and signed with Brooks’ staff during the open signing period this week. Former UK signee Ramiya White of Butler Traditional in Louisville announced on April 5 that she would be reopening her recruitment.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram staff writer Steven Johnson contributed to this article.

UK’s second-leading scorer last season won’t be part of Wildcats’ future with Kenny Brooks