The off-season for Kentucky Women’s Basketball has had nearly a complete turnaround since the hiring of new coach Kenny Brooks. Coach Brooks took Virginia Tech to the 2023 Final Four and is bringing over most of his staff and his All-American super senior point guard Georgia Amoore. Amoore turned down a likely first round WNBA draft pick to follow her coach to Lexington.
Kentucky WBB Coach Kenny Brooks gets a first look at Memorial Coliseum 👀
— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) August 23, 2024
pic.twitter.com/tJ9VUX0Uji
The mostly new team has been putting in the work this summer in workouts and this week began official full practices for the upcoming season. Here are some recent rumblings and happenings for the 2024-25 version of the Kentucky Women’s Basketball team:
- Recruiting
2025 6’0” 5-star wing ZaKiyah Johnson from Sacred Heart in Shelbyville, Kentucky was recently on campus and seem to be enjoying her visit with posting pictures on her Instagram from her visit. The Cats are thought to be in her top three (UK, Louisville, LSU) with a decision looming later this fall.
Sacred Heart’s ZaKiyah Johnson took her official visit to @KentuckyWBB this weekend👀🏀
— Rise Up Sports Media (@riseupsports1) September 22, 2024
Who wants to see her stay home and rock that blue and white next year?!💙🤍@ZJohnson_06 @ValkyriesBBall @WVThunderUAA pic.twitter.com/VZ94ml1wd7
5-star 6’2” Kaelyn Carroll visited early this month with 4-star guard Adelaide Jernigan. Jernigan is down to North Carolina State, Michigan, and Kentucky with a decision expected soon. Who will be the coach Brooks first 2025 recruit at Kentucky?
2. ESPN Preseason Hype
This week ESPN has begun to put out their preseason expectations for the 2024-25 season. Women’s basketball bracketologist specialist Charlie Crème released his updated early expected March Madness brackets and Kentucky landed as a 6-seed. To go even further, the Wildcats were tied with Alabama as the sixth overall best seeding in the SEC. 11 teams made the field with two more just missing the cut in the last four out category.
https://t.co/PJbuoUPBdE
— Brad Harvey (@BradCSCast) September 19, 2024
Early Bracketology by ESPN Women’s expert Charlie Crème @KentuckyWBB is a 6 seed.
Tied w/Bama for 6th in #SEC
1 SC
2 Texas
2 LSU
3 Okla
5 Miss
6 UK
6 Bama
8 Auburn
9 Vandy
9 Miss St
10 Tenn
11 SEC teams
A&M & Florida-First 4 Out
💙🏀💪🏻 @CSCast_
ESPN followed that by releasing an updated Way-To-Early Top 25. Kentucky came in at number 25 in the previous poll released in the early summer. Now, with practices beginning and the season 40 days or less from beginning the Cats have moved up two spots to number 23 in the new poll.
3. Exciting Big Blue Madness News
Big Blue Madness will have new technology as a centerpiece of the spectacle when the event tips off on Oct. 11 inside Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. In a historic moment for college sports, ASB GlassFloor, a global leader in innovative sports flooring, will create the center stage at one of the biggest and most anticipated events of the college athletics year.
The landmark spectacle will be the first college basketball event that features the revolutionary floor, designed to enhance player performance and provide fans with a more immersive experience. It was previously used during 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis this year.
Big Blue Madness will be the first #collegebasketball event on @asbglassfloor, a LED video floor allowing for interactive applications.
— Kentucky Athletics (@UKAthletics) September 25, 2024
The floor was used at @NBAAllStar, @BasketballCL and @FIBA U19 World Cup | @KentuckyMBB @KentuckyWBB
📰🔗 https://t.co/6IVoqpcwWV pic.twitter.com/QX9t83T8CV
Both the Men’s and Women’s team will take part of the event, as well as having the annual Blue/White game the following week Oct 18th at the newly renovated Historic Memorial Coliseum. New regimes create new excitement surrounding both programs as the 2024-25 seasons begin.
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