‘He values every single player.’ Highly rated 2025 recruit talks Kenny Brooks and UK.
Kentucky women’s basketball assistant coach Josh Petersen was one of numerous Division I coaches in attendance Saturday to watch 2025 standout wing Kaelyn Carroll, the highest-rated player in New England, during a Girls’ Under Armour Association event outside Indianapolis.
At 6-foot-2, Carroll is a talented shooter with enough court awareness and confidence to create scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates. Her versatility, which she uses to dominate inside and out, has made her a player to watch nationally; Carroll is the No. 29 prospect in the class of 2025, has stacked dozens of Division I scholarship offers and received an invitation to the 2024 USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team trials.
Carroll’s summer team, the Bay State Jaguars, announced May 25 that Carroll had received a UK offer, putting the Wildcats in a crowded pool of interested programs that also includes the likes of Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Louisville, North Carolina, N.C. State and Ohio State.
UK head coach Kenny Brooks and his staff have been recruiting Carroll since their time at Virginia Tech. Carroll told the Herald-Leader on Saturday that she thinks the Kentucky coaching staff is “amazing.”
“Great people, great coaches,” Carroll said. “What stands out most is how much he takes care of his players. I think he values every single player on that court.”
Carroll has separated herself in New England and beyond through years of hard work, playing against and alongside top competition on the Under Armour circuit under coach Laurie Bollin and at highly touted Tabor Academy under head coach Will Becker.
“It’s definitely been great,” Carroll said. “Tabor Academy is an amazing school. We play some great competition out there. Along with Laurie and the Jags, she started me young, in eighth grade playing up. So I just think the opportunity is always amazing against great players.”
Carroll has yet to take any official visits, but said she’s excited to do so, and is planning on taking some toward the end of summer. In terms of what she’s looking for in a college destination, the Dedham, Massachusetts, native is prioritizing relationships and potential.
“I’m definitely looking at the community of schools,” Carroll said. “But also how coaches build me up into the player I want to be in the future.”
Though one of her goals is to “be more physical,” Carroll is still finding ways to positively affect the game each time she takes the floor. During her junior season with Tabor Academy, Carroll averaged 11 rebounds per game as the team went 22-6.
Through six games on the Under Armour circuit this summer, Carroll has scored more than 90 total points — averaging double-figure scoring against some of the most impressive players on the circuit — and shot more than 40 percent, both from the field and from 3-point range.
Praised by her coaches as a natural leader, Carroll could be seen standing and shouting words of encouragement to her teammates whenever she was on the bench, and communicating well while on the floor.
“I definitely try to be a leader,” Carroll said after her team’s 52-38 win over the Comets on Saturday. “Try and take the team into my hands, hype them up when they’re down, keep pushing them.”
Carroll, in no rush to commit just yet, is focusing on enjoying her remaining time with her AAU and high school teams. She even has her sights set on a New England Prep School Athletic Council Basketball AA title with Tabor.
“I’m just excited to play with my team one more time,” Carroll said. “Hopefully a championship in mind, and we’ll see from there. Just gonna work hard.”
