6-foot-7 international prospect will follow Kenny Brooks to play for Kentucky basketball
Another former Virginia Tech pledge has flipped her commitment to the University of Kentucky.
Portuguese 6-foot-7 center Clara Silva, one of the most sought after international prospects in the class of 2024, posted her commitment to the Wildcats on Instagram on Sunday afternoon. Silva initially committed to UK head coach Kenny Brooks and his staff at Virginia Tech in early September 2023 after also reporting visits to Louisville, Maryland and Tennessee.
Originally from Faro, Portugal, the 17-year-old plays professionally in Malaga, Spain, with Unicaja Baloncesto, where she anchors the frontcourt. As of contests through April 5, Silva is averaging 9.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Also a force in the Portuguese National Team system, Silva averaged 22.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocks during the Group Phase of the 2023 FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship last summer. Her best performance of the summer came in Portugal’s 89-77 loss to Finland on July 6, when she recorded 20 points, 21 rebounds and two blocks.
Silva is the third of Brooks’ five-player recruiting class committed to Virginia Tech to flip to UK, after 6-foot-3 forward Amelia Hassett of Eastern Florida State College and 6-foot-2 guard Lexi Blue (No. 40 in espnW 100) of Lake Highland Prep announced their commitments on April 4 and 5, respectively.
Since his hiring on March 26, Brooks has also signed two former Hokies via the transfer portal in All-America point guard and graduate transfer Georgia Amoore and 6-foot-5 freshman center Clara Strack.
Imari Berry, a former Clemson signee and the No. 16 overall recruit in the class of 2024 out of Clarksville, Tennessee, is also considering the Wildcats in a final three that also includes Louisville and North Carolina.
Five active Wildcats from the 2023-24 season have also publicly declared for the transfer portal — leading scorer Ajae Petty and freshman forward Janaé Walker announced their intentions to transfer in the days following the firing of former UK head coach Kyra Elzy, while freshman guard Jordy Griggs and junior point guard Brooklynn Miles each announced their entry to the portal on April 4 and 5, respectively. On Sunday afternoon, senior guard Eniya Russell posted an official goodbye to Big Blue Nation following weeks of reports that she had entered the transfer portal.
Petty took an official visit to Ohio State this weekend, potentially reuniting with former Kentucky teammate Kennedy Cambridge, who transferred to Ohio State ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Portal entry does not necessarily mean a player will not return to the roster. Every player on the Wildcats’ 2023-24 roster technically retains at least one season of eligibility with the exception of graduate guard Emma King, who this year exhausted her fifth and final season of eligibility granted by the NCAA following the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Junior Amiya Jenkins and seniors Nyah Leveretter and Maddie Scherr are not currently listed on the online roster for UK’s 2024-25 season, but they have not issued any public statement regarding their future plans.
This story was originally published April 14, 2024 at 4:10 PM.
