Kentucky women sign ‘under-the-radar’ recruit as seventh newcomer for 2022-23 season

University of Kentucky women’s basketball coach Kyra Elzy is assembling a youthful roster for next season.

The Wildcats on Friday announced the signing of their sixth freshman for the 2022-23 season with the addition of Ohio high school standout Zennia Thomas.

Thomas will be joined by fellow high school newcomers Kennedy Cambridge, Tionna Herron, Amiya Jenkins, Cassidy Jo Rowe and Saniah Tyler. Also added to the UK roster since the end of the 2021-22 season was Adebola Adeyeye, a transfer from the University of Buffalo.

“We are very excited to welcome Zennia to Big Blue Nation,” Elzy said in a news release. “Z has gone under the radar nationally, but we absolutely love her game. She is athletic and long. Z is a versatile post that has a great feel for the game. The numbers she averaged her senior season are impressive and are a credit to her hard work and dedication to her game. She is a great addition to our program.”

Thomas, a 6-foot-2 forward from Warrensville Heights High School near Cleveland, averaged 30.6 points and 14.5 rebounds per game as a senior and was named a First Team All-Ohio selection in Division III. She helped lead her school to its first regional finals berth ever. Thomas, who also reported scholarship offers from Purdue and Arizona State, played her first three prep seasons at Brush High School in Lyndhurst, Ohio.

Thomas, whose first name is pronounced ze-NIGH-yuh, becomes the fourth recognized frontcourt player on the UK roster for the 2022-23 season, joining junior-to-be Nyah Leveretter, Adeyeye and Herron.

Kentucky lost five players from the 2021-22 team that went 19-12 overall, won the Southeastern Conference Tournament and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament: Center Olivia Owens, forward Dre’una Edwards and guards Jazmine Massengill, Rhyne Howard (the recent No. 1 overall WNBA Draft pick) and Treasure Hunt.

Three of those players — Edwards, Massengill and Hunt — all announced their decisions to leave Kentucky on the same day. In response, Elzy expressed confidence in herself, her coaching staff and what Kentucky can offer prospective players.

Elzy also recently received a contract extension through the 2026-27 season.

Kentucky is now projected to have 12 scholarship players for the upcoming season, half of them freshmen.

They are: Guards Robyn Benton, Kennedy Cambridge, Blair Green, Amiya Jenkins, Emma King, Cassidy Jo Rowe, Saniah Tyler and Jada Walker and interior players Nyah Leveretter, Tionna Herron, Adebola Adeyeye and Zennia Thomas.

This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 12:21 PM.