UK women’s basketball will need transfers to maximize roster. Here are some top targets.

Following his hiring as the ninth head coach of Kentucky women’s basketball on March 26, Kenny Brooks has hit the recruiting trail hard while crafting his inaugural UK roster.

Despite the fact that three members of his five-player recruiting class at Virginia Tech — 6-foot-2 guard Lexi Blue (ranked No. 40 nationally by espnW), 6-3 forward Amelia Hassett of Eastern Florida State College and 6-7 international prospect Clara Silva — opted to flip their commitments and follow Brooks to Kentucky, the majority of his inherited roster in Lexington entered the transfer portal.

As it stands, Kentucky’s 2024-25 roster holds eight players, including the 2024 recruiting class. Brooks confirmed on his radio show Monday night that sophomore guards Cassidy Rowe and Saniah Tyler have elected to stay with the program for the 2024-25 season. The Wildcats also recently signed Virginia Tech transfers Georgia Amoore, a graduate All-America point guard, and Clara Strack, a 6-5 freshman center, as well as 6-4 redshirt sophomore forward Teonni Key from North Carolina.

And Brooks probably isn’t done yet.

During his radio show Monday, Brooks discussed the importance of finding transfers who fit best within a program’s culture and style of play, as opposed to securing commitments from players who may have averaged double-figure scoring with their previous teams.

“You don’t just plug and play,” Brooks said. “You can look at someone else from a different school, just because they average 10 points a game doesn’t mean they’re going to average 10 points a game for you. And you have to see they’re willing to sacrifice, what can they bring to your program. And if you find the right fit, then you’ve got to be able to jump on it. But you can’t wait too long because they have many, many options.”

Under Brooks, Virginia Tech — one year removed from its 2023 Final Four appearance — finished the 2023-24 campaign as the ACC regular season champion, and ended the Kenny Brooks era rated No. 19 in the NCAA NET rankings.

On Monday, Brooks addressed comments about the difference in styles of play in the ACC and the SEC.

“It’s one of the best conferences in the country, obviously, with the last two national champions,” Brooks said. “And very good basketball teams. Different styles. A lot of people are trying to compare styles with the SEC or the ACC, and I just look at it as a lot of good teams that play different styles. You have to implement your style and impose your will on some other teams. We’re not going to come in and change a lot of what we do. We’ve proven that it can be successful against a lot of different types of basketball teams. It’s what we’re comfortable with and go with what you know. We’re looking forward to just adding a different element to the SEC and a different element that people will have to guard, as well.”

Statistically this past season, the Hokies averaged 75.2 points per game — that ranked third in the ACC, but would’ve ranked fifth in the Southeastern Conference. Virginia Tech averaged 28.0 made field goals per game, hitting 45.2 percent of its field goal attempts.

The Hokies ranked No. 12 in Division I women’s basketball when it came to 3-pointers made per game (9.0), hitting 35 percent of their average 25.8 attempts from long range. That percentage ranked second in the ACC, just a tenth of one percentage point behind conference leader Notre Dame, and would’ve been tied for third in the SEC.

In terms of rebounding, Virginia Tech grabbed 40.4 rebounds per game; that was the fifth-best in the ACC, and would’ve tied the Hokies for sixth in the SEC.

With the Wildcats’ frontcourt needs filled by newcomers Strack and Silva, Brooks will probably look to create more depth at the guard position, providing more experience for — what is sure to be — Amoore’s offense.

Here are some of the best available guards in the transfer portal.

KK Bransford, Notre Dame

▪ 5-11 sophomore guard

▪ From just up the road, Cincinnati native Bransford was named to the 2023 All-ACC Freshman Team during her first season with the Fighting Irish. Despite the fact that you can’t “plug in and play” these guards anywhere, Bransford really is effective all over the floor. Notre Dame has no shortage of guard talent, so Bransford did a little bit of everything this past season while averaging 6.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 25.6 minutes per game. The No. 29 overall recruit in the class of 2021 and McDonald’s All-American isn’t much of a 3-point shooter, but she did put up 8.2 points per game during her freshman campaign.

Kaitlyn Chen, Princeton

▪ 5-9 senior guard

▪ Chen is the latest top-tier guard out of Princeton on the hunt for a place to spend her final season of eligibility, and there’s a lot to appreciate about her game. This season with AP poll frequenter Princeton, Chen led the Tigers in scoring for the second consecutive year, averaging 15.8 points while also recording 3.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.9 minutes per game. She was also named an honorable mention All-America selection by the WBCA, and shot 48.8 percent from the field, including 32.8 percent from long range.

Shay Ciezki, Penn State

▪ 5-7 sophomore guard

▪ Ciezki was one of five players to average double-figure scoring for the Nittany Lions this past season, and was voted an All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media after averaging 11.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steal in 25.1 minutes per game. She shot 42.3 percent from the field, including 36.8 percent from 3-point range. In fact, Ciezki ranks third all-time in Penn State women’s basketball history for career 3-point percentage, sinking 41.6 percent over two seasons.

Deja Kelly, North Carolina

▪ 5-8 senior guard

▪ Experience, talent, brand — wherever Kelly ends up next, she’s bringing the total package. The Tar Heels’ senior captain is a three-time All-ACC selection, and ranks within the top 10 of North Carolina’s all-time scoring list (1,851). Kelly has led the team in scoring for the past three seasons, and averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals in 36.1 minutes per game. Kelly has played in 121 games during her collegiate career, and started all four seasons for the Tar Heels.

Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State

▪ 5-10 senior guard

▪ A native of Waikato, New Zealand, Leger-Walker’s senior season with the Cougars ended prematurely in January due to a torn ACL. Leger-Walker’s presence on Washington State’s roster was transformative, helping lift the Cougars to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances following a 30-year drought. In 2023, Washington State won its first Pac-12 Tournament title in program history, and the three-time All-America honorable mention is, according to head coach Kamie Ethridge, “the greatest and winningest impact player in WSU women’s basketball history!” Leger-Walker averaged double figures in each of her four seasons with the Cougars, scoring 13.2 points on 40.6 percent this past season prior to her injury. She also contributed 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 33.4 minutes per game.

Laila Phelia, Michigan

▪ 6-0 junior guard

▪ Another Cincinnati native — from the same high school as Bransford, no less — with a lot of hype, Phelia helped keep the Wolverines’ NCAA Tournament streak alive following consecutive seasons having lost a WNBA Draft pick in Naz Hillmon (2022) and Leigha Brown (2023). Phelia has improved her scoring each season, delivering 16.8 points per game while adding 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 35.1 minutes per contest as a junior. Phelia also surpassed 1,000 career points this year, and now has more than 1,200 entering her senior campaign. She shot 42.3 percent from the field, including 32.1 percent from 3 in her final season with the Wolverines.

Saylor Poffenbarger, Arkansas

▪ 6-2 redshirt sophomore guard

▪ A big guard with a strong defensive presence, Poffenbarger arrived in Fayetteville after briefly starting her career at UConn. This past season, Poffenbarger averaged 10.2 points, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. But she made her name this season on the glass, clocking in at No. 7 in the nation (and second in the SEC behind Angel Reese) in rebounding, grabbing 11.2 per game. Poffenbarger landed 35.5 percent of her shots from the field, including 32.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Kaylene Smikle, Rutgers

▪ 6-0 sophomore guard

▪ The No. 64 overall prospect in the class of 2022 set a program record last year when she earned three separate Big Ten Freshman of the Week selections, and led the Scarlet Knights in scoring as a freshman with 17.9 points per game. As a sophomore, Smikle was sidelined for more than half of Rutgers’ games due to injury, but recorded 16.1 points on 40 percent shooting from the field, including 32.3 percent from 3. Smikle also added 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 29.2 minutes during the 15 games she was healthy.

Talia von Oelhoffen, Oregon State

▪ 5-11 junior guard

▪ Von Oelhoffen helped guide Oregon State this past season to its first Elite Eight appearance since 2018. An early enrollee whose 2022-23 campaign ended early due to injury, the key veteran averaged 10.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game this past season, and ranked within the top 50 of assist leaders in Division I with 5.0 per contest. Von Oelhoffen shot 38.7 percent from the field this year, including 31.7 percent from long range. She also delivers from the free-throw line, hitting 88.9 percent of attempts.

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