Where did Kyra Elzy’s final Kentucky team end up after transfer portal departures?

If you were a fan of the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team the past couple years, you knew change was inevitable as the losses continued to outdistance the wins.

The Wildcats won the 2022 SEC Tournament for head coach Kyra Elzy but went a combined 24-39 (6-26 SEC) across the next two seasons, and Mitch Barnhart took action. The UK athletic director fired Elzy with three years remaining on her contract and hired Kenny Brooks, who led Virginia Tech to the NCAA Final Four in 2023, to replace her.

Amid a college sports landscape allowing freedom of movement for athletes like never before, numerous UK players took the opportunity to depart.

All but two members of the Wildcats’ 2023-24 roster with eligibility remaining entered the transfer portal.

While sophomore guards Cassidy Rowe and Saniah Tyler each opted to return to Lexington, and fifth-year leader Emma King closed the book on her basketball career, it’s time for new chapters for statistical leaders Ajae Petty and Maddie Scherr, seniors Nyah Leveretter and Eniya Russell, junior Brooklynn Miles, sophomore Amiya Jenkins and freshmen Jordy Griggs and Janaé Walker.

Since Barnhart announced the hiring of Brooks on March 26, the UK coach has officially announced the signings of 12 scholarship players, a mix of transfers and high school players that includes All-America graduate point guard Georgia Amoore and promising freshman center Clara Strack from Virginia Tech and 1,000-point career scorers Dazia Lawrence (Charlotte) and Jordan Obi (Penn).

Brooks landed three additional transfers in Amelia Hassett (Eastern Florida State College), Teoni Key (North Carolina) and Dominika Paurova (Oregon State).

Lexi Blue, the No. 40 national recruit in the class of 2024, opted to follow Brooks to Lexington, giving the Wildcats their first top-50 recruit since Treasure Hunt (No. 29 in 2020). Clara Silva, a 6-foot-7 center from Portugal, is another high-level recruit Brooks brought from Virginia Tech.

Brooks’ daughter Gabby, a 5-foot-10 guard who redshirted her freshman season last year at Virginia Tech, is also listed on the Wildcats’ online roster for next season, but no official announcement has been made regarding her signing.

The Wildcats’ 2024 signing class was also affected by the coaching change. Elzy’s 2024 class included Butler Traditional center Ramiya White, a Kentucky native who signed with the Wildcats in November, and late-stage commitment Tanah Becker, a 6-1 guard out of Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Tennessee. White reopened her recruitment after the coaching change and committed to Virginia Tech, but Becker remained pledged to the Wildcats and signed with UK in April.

The eight players who left the Wildcats via the transfer portal committed to Power Five programs, and are spread across the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. Here is where those players landed.

Jordy Griggs (Clemson)

Griggs goes from one program navigating a period of transition to another in joining new head coach Shawn Poppie’s Clemson Tigers.



A former assistant under Brooks at Virginia Tech before a pair of successful seasons leading Chattanooga, Poppie has taken a similar approach to Brooks and attacked the transfer portal in the building of his inaugural roster. Griggs, a four-star wing prospect out of Montverde (Florida) Academy’s class of 2023, never quite got her moment to shine at UK, where she spent the majority of the season, according to Elzy, adjusting to both a new position and the speed and competition of the college level. She confirmed her intention to transfer in early April before announcing her signing with Clemson this month.

In her sole season with the Wildcats, Griggs played a total of just 14 minutes over the course of four games, and averaged 0.8 points and 0.3 rebounds per contest.

Last season under former head coach Amanda Butler, the Tigers finished 12-19 (5-13 ACC). Clemson graduated leading scorers Amari Robinson and Dayshanette Harris, but brings in a transfer class highlighted by 2024 Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year Summah Evans (Mercer), former Chattanooga leading scorer Raven Thompson and former Alabama veteran starter Loyal McQueen. Poppie has also signed 5-9 freshman guard Hannah Kohn (Chattanooga), 6-2 junior center Tessa Miller (Belmont), 5-6 redshirt sophomore point guard Mia Moore (UAB), 6-2 graduate forward Anya Poole (North Carolina) and 5-4 junior point guard Addie Porter (Chattanooga). Clemson released 2024 McDonald’s All-American signee Imari Berry in the aftermath of Butler’s firing, but signed incoming freshman forward Morgan Miller of Andover High School in Minnesota.

Amiya Jenkins (Pittsburgh)

The Wildcats’ 2022 signing of Jenkins, the 2022 Miss Kentucky Basketball honoree out of Anderson County and No. 94 overall recruit in her class, marked an important achievement for Elzy’s staff, and for Kentucky women’s basketball as a program — keeping the commonwealth’s top talent in state.

Jenkins was the first Miss Kentucky Basketball winner to elect to play for the Wildcats out of high school since 2015 selection Maci Morris, and the highest-rated in-state recruit to choose UK since Erin Toller, the No. 91 recruit in 2021. As a freshman, Jenkins averaged 8.8 minutes per game, but became an important contributor during her sophomore season last year. In 2023-24, Jenkins averaged 7.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 0.6 steals in 22.6 minutes per game, and made 17 starts. She announced her decision to transfer April 29, and her commitment to Pitt on May 20.

The Panthers finished 2023-24 — head coach Tory Verdi’s first at Pitt — 8-24 (2-16 ACC) and finished last in the conference. Leading scorer Liatu King graduated and transferred to Notre Dame, one of four Pitt portal exits, but Verdi inked six transfers to offset the losses. In addition to Jenkins, the Panthers gained former Kentucky Wildcat Brooklynn Miles, as well as 6-3 graduate forward MaKayla Elmore (Clemson), 6-4 graduate center Khadija Faye (Texas) and 6-1 redshirt freshman guard Mikayla Johnson (Colorado).

Pitt also signed incoming freshmen Audrey Biggs of Boyd County (Kentucky) and Kiara Williams of Palm Bay (Florida).

Nyah Leveretter (Georgia).

Leveretter will make her long-awaited return to the basketball court as a graduate transfer in red and black.

After a torn ACL sustained late in the regular season of her junior year, Leveretter spent her senior campaign in a leadership role on the bench as opposed to suiting up one last time for the Wildcats. In signing Leveretter, Georgia picks up a veteran forward with SEC experience and more than 30 career starts. During the 2022-23 season, prior to her injury, Leveretter made 21 starts in 26 contests and averaged 2.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Leveretter made a heartfelt goodbye post to Big Blue Nation and announced her signing with the Bulldogs on April 26. She graduated from UK in May.

The Bulldogs finished second-to-last in the SEC in 2023-24 with a 3-13 record (12-18 overall). The Bulldogs return key contributors De’Mauri Flournoy and Asia Avinger, but graduated leading scorer and rebounder Javyn Nicholson. Entering her third season at Georgia, head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson has also signed graduate transfer Roxane Makolo (Southern California) and four top-100 recruits — 5-9 guard Indya Davis (No. 67), 6-3 forward Mia Woolfolk (No. 71), 5-6 guard Trinity Turner (No. 74) and 5-9 guard Summer Davis (No. 96).

Brooklynn Miles (Pittsburgh)

In her one year with the Wildcats, Miles posted the best statistical season of her collegiate career. The 2021 Miss Kentucky Basketball winner and Franklin County standout spent her freshman and sophomore seasons at Tennessee before transferring to UK ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. After clocking in with just over 800 minutes played over her first two seasons, Miles was on the floor for more than 950 minutes with the Wildcats.

While at UK, Miles averaged 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 29.8 minutes before announcing April 5 that she would be entering the transfer portal, and graduated from UK in May. She announced her commitment to the Panthers on April 20.

Ajae Petty (Ohio State)

Petty, Kentucky’s leading scorer last season, was the first to enter the portal after the firing of Elzy.

After two seasons with LSU, Petty elected to transfer to UK ahead of the 2022-23 season, but didn’t truly come into her own on the court until her senior year. After a dedicated offseason, Petty emerged as UK’s most valuable player. One of four SEC players to finish the regular season with at least 15 double-doubles, Petty averaged a team-leading 14.2 points and 10.6 rebounds in 31.2 minutes. She started in each of the Wildcats’ 32 games after making zero starts and averaging 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game her junior year.

The Buckeyes’ transfer class also includes 5-9 sophomore point guard Chance Gray (Oregon). Head coach Kevin McGuff has also signed a freshman class that includes three top-100 players in 5-6 point guard Jaloni Cambridge (No. 2), 5-8 point guard Ava Watson (No. 52) and 6-4 forward Ella Hobbs (No. 95).

Petty announced her commitment to Ohio State on April 15 directly after an official visit to Columbus, and graduated from UK in May. She should make an immediate impact on a Buckeyes roster that finished first in the Big Ten last season with a league record of 16-2 (26-6 overall) and reached the NCAA Tournament round of 32 before falling to Duke. Despite losing standouts Jacy Sheldon (No. 5 pick to the Dallas Wings) and Celeste Taylor (No. 15 to the Indiana Fever) to the WNBA Draft, expectations are high for Ohio State; the Buckeyes will return second-leading scorer Cotie McMahon.

Eniya Russell (Mississippi State)

Russell was often viewed as a necessary spark off the bench for the Wildcats, particularly during her senior campaign.

A 2022 national champion with South Carolina, Russell transferred to UK following her sophomore season with the Gamecocks in hopes of more playing time. Though she never cracked the starting five consistently, Russell improved in nearly every statistical category while in Lexington, and averaged 10.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.6 blocks in 32 games in 2023-24.

Russell confirmed her decision to transfer April 14 following weeks of speculation that she wouldn’t be returning for the Wildcats, and publicly committed to the Bulldogs on April 15. She graduated from UK in May.

Last season, Mississippi State finished 23-12 (8-8 SEC), and reached the third round of the WBIT before falling to No. 1 overall seed Penn State.

Including Russell, Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell has signed five transfers ahead of next season — 5-5 sophomore point guard Denim DeShields (UAB), 5-11 graduate guard Chandler Prater (Oklahoma State), 6-3 junior center Kayla Thomas (Georgia Southern) and 5-11 graduate guard/forward Terren Ward. The Bulldogs have also signed 6-3 forward Tahj Bloom, the No. 43 overall prospect in the class of 2024, and fellow freshmen Anaisha Carriere and Shakirah Edwards.

Maddie Scherr (Texas Christian)

During Brooks’ radio appearance with “voice of the Wildcats” Darren Headrick in early April, a fan called in to express hope that Scherr would return to UK for her fifth and final season of eligibility.

A quick fan favorite and immediate impact player for the Wildcats, Scherr signed with UK ahead of the 2022-23 season after two years at Oregon. The beloved Ryle alumna and 2020 Miss Kentucky Basketball provided scoring relief in the program’s first season post-Rhyne Howard. Despite a difficult junior campaign that included migraine-related absences, Scherr remained positive and returned this past season with a renewed determination; she delivered 12.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while also leading the Wildcats in assists (3.4), steals (1.6) and minutes played (33.1) across 26 games.

Though Scherr never officially announced her entry to the transfer portal, a heartfelt goodbye post on social media on April 18 confirmed rumors that had been swirling for weeks. Hours later, Scherr announced her commitment to TCU. She graduated from UK in May.

In Fort Worth, Scherr joins a growing program under head coach Mark Campbell that appeared in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings during nonconference play last season before an unfortunate wave of adversity led to an injured, shorthanded roster and open tryouts on campus. Even so, the Horned Frogs finished 21-12 (6-12 Big 12) and with plenty about which to be excited.

TCU has also signed former Louisville and LSU point guard Hailey Van Lith, as well as 6-1 redshirt sophomore guard Taylor Bigby (Southern California), 6-0 freshman guard Donovyn Hunter (Oregon State), 6-2 graduate center Natalie Mazurek (South Dakota) and 6-1 graduate forward — and ex-Cat — Deasia Merrill (Georgia State).

Janae Walker (Rutgers)

A late addition to Elzy’s 2023 signing class, Walker ultimately chose the Wildcats after a coaching change led to her de-commitment from Gardner-Webb, where she initially signed as a respected, but lesser-known post prospect out of Georgia.

Elzy asked more of Walker than she typically asks of freshman, and that only intensified when sophomore forward Zennia Thomas was dismissed from the team in January after a months-long suspension. The only true post player healthy and available to back up Petty, the 6-4 forward made one start in 28 games and averaged 0.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.3 blocks in 7.6 minutes per contest.

The Scarlet Knights announced Walker’s signing May 2. She chose Rutgers over BYU and Colorado.

Rutgers finished last in the Big Ten last season with with a conference record of 2-16, and finished 8-24 overall. Despite losing leading scorer Kaylene Smikle (Maryland), freshman guard Jillian Huerter (Fairfield) and senior wing Erica Lafayette (UL Lafayette), head coach Coquese Washington has highly touted talent joining the team in her third season at the helm. In addition to Walker, the Scarlet Knights have signed Boston College graduate transfer JoJo Lacey, as well as 5-9 guard Kiyomi McMiller (No. 27 recruit in 2024) and 6-3 guard/forward Zachara Perkins.

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