‘It’s time to be a Wildcat!’ Kentucky women’s basketball lands top-40 national prospect.
Kenny Brooks has had quite the 24 hours on the recruiting trail.
The new leader of Kentucky women’s basketball earned his fourth commitment in less than 24 hours on Friday afternoon, this time a pledge from former Virginia Tech commit Alexandra “Lexi” Blue. Blue, a 6-foot-2 guard out of Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, Florida, is the No. 38 overall recruit in the class of 2024 and a four-time state champion with the Highlanders. She committed to the Hokies in July 2023.
Blue posted her commitment to the Wildcats via social media, captioning a graphic of her wearing Kentucky blue and white with “It’s time to be a Wildcat! #committed #bbn.”
Blue averaged a team-high 13.9 points per game on 50% shooting from the field during her senior season with the Highlanders, and recorded 5.1 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game. Blue is the Wildcats’ highest-ranking high school commitment since former post Tionna Herron, the No. 69 overall recruit in the class of 2022.
Blue’s commitment arrived a day after fellow 2024 pledge, Eastern Florida State College sophomore Amelia Hassett, flipped her commitment from Virginia Tech to Kentucky. All-America point guard Georgia Amoore, a graduate transfer, and 6-5 freshman center Clara Strack each announced their intentions to transfer from Virginia Tech to UK on Thursday evening.
Imari Berry, a former Clemson signee and the No. 13 overall recruit in the class of 2024 out of Clarksville, Tenn., is also considering the Wildcats in a final three that also contains Louisville and North Carolina.
Since UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart announced the firing of former head coach Kyra Elzy on March 11, four active Wildcats have publicly declared their entry into the transfer portal — leading scorer Ajae Petty, starting point guard Brooklynn Miles and freshmen Jordy Griggs and Janaé Walker. Petty and Walker announced their intentions to transfer in the days following Elzy’s firing, while Griggs and Miles each posted their decisions following the commitments of Amoore, Hassett and Strack.
Graduate guard Emma King is the only player technically unable to return for the 2024-25 season. Seniors Petty, Nyah Leverretter, Eniya Russell and Maddie Scherr each retain their additional year of eligibility granted by the NCAA following the COVID-19 pandemic. Though Leveretter, Russell and Scherr have yet to issue any public comment regarding their intentions, they are not listed on UK’s online roster for the 2024-25 season.
This story was originally published April 5, 2024 at 2:40 PM.
