ZaKiyah Johnson, Kentucky’s top women’s basketball prospect, makes her college choice

ZaKiyah Johnson is an LSU Tiger.

Kentucky’s top prospect — and the No. 13 overall prospect in the class of 2025 — announced her commitment to the Tigers at Sacred Heart Academy on Sunday, choosing LSU over Kentucky and Louisville.

Johnson is now the third commitment in Kim Mulkey’s 2025 recruiting cycle, joining 5-11 guard Divine Bourrage out of Davenport (Iowa) North High School and 5-9 guard Bella Hines out of Eldorado High School (New Mexico). Bourrage is No. 12 in the 2025 class; Hines is 30th.

The three-time state champion and three-time Girls Sweet 16 MVP with Sacred Heart and three-time Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year winner told the Herald-Leader in July, weeks after Johnson narrowed her list of finalists down to UK, Louisville, LSU, Notre Dame, Southern California and South Carolina, that she was looking for a sisterhood.

“I think I could notice that the most in those six schools I picked,” she said, “but it’s definitely gonna be fun, just picking between them. Going to visit and seeing what the real thing is in my own eyes. Definitely the sisterhood because I am really big on who I’m playing with for four years.”

Johnson took official visits with her finalists throughout the fall, including a standout trip to LSU. She initially planned to announce her commitment at the end of the month on her birthday but felt comfortable enough in her decision to move up the announcement date.

Sacred Heart head coach and athletic director Donna Moir told the Herald-Leader ahead of Johnson’s commitment that the talented guard’s unselfish nature and willingness to make time for everybody, on top of Johnson’s impressive résumé, has resulted in greater exposure for the game.

“She has grown our game,” Moir said. “And she has put Kentucky high school basketball on the map. Nobody, no high school player right now, has done what she’s done. Been a three-time MVP, three-time Gatorade Player of the Year, won three state championships. People forget how hard it is to win in basketball. It’s just not like that every year. You can talk about winning all you want, but to go out and actually do it is just amazing.”

Johnson is the last of three major in-state prospects in the class of 2025 to declare a college destination. Bethlehem’s Leah Macy (No. 19 nationally) committed to Notre Dame in May, while George Rogers Clark’s Ciara Byars (No. 65) picked Michigan on Oct. 23. The Kentucky high school basketball season begins Dec. 2. Now only 15 of the nation’s top 100 recruits in the 2025 class — seven of which are top-20 prospects — have not yet announced a college destination.