Little-used Kentucky women’s basketball freshman enters transfer portal
Another Kentucky women’s basketball freshman has entered the transfer portal.
Tanah Becker is looking for a new home, the Herald-Leader was told Thursday amid media reports of her potential departure. Becker initially committed to UK under former head coach Kyra Elzy, and signed with the program following the hiring of Kenny Brooks. She has not yet issued a statement regarding her decision to transfer.
A native of Winnipeg, Canada, Becker played AAU ball with Nike EYBL program Kia Nurse Elite and graduated from Lincoln Prep in 2023 before moving to the United States and taking a prep year at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee. That school also produced decorated South Carolina alumna Kamilla Cardoso, and former Wildcats Treasure Hunt and Jazmine Massengill, among others.
The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 1.8 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.5 steals in 4.0 minutes across just six contests during her freshman season in Lexington. Becker’s career highs in points scored and minutes played peaked in the team’s season-opening victory against USC Upstate on Nov. 4, during which she posted five points on 2-for-2 shooting, including one 3-pointer, in approximately seven minutes on the floor.
When asked about Becker’s progress in December, Brooks said “she probably would have been a candidate to redshirt,” but, given the season-ending injuries sustained by transfer guards Jordan Obi and Dominika Paurová, “you’re trying to throw her out there to see if you can get a spark from her somehow, some way.”
Becker’s most recent appearance for the Wildcats was the team’s 42-point rout of Queens (N.C.) on Dec. 9, during which she recorded one rebound and one steal in about five minutes on the floor.
“Tanah is young and she exudes athleticism,” Brooks said. “She does some things that nobody else on our team can do, you know, she can get downhill, she’s quick. I think she has the possibility of becoming a really good defender. She’s just learning on the fly. And I would love to say that, you know, we could put her out there, and she’s ready, but she’s not ready for the schematics of basketball. She’s not ready for the physicality. She’s not ready for the conditioning yet. … But just trying to build confidence with her, within herself, and just understanding that it’s a fast game, but she’s got potential, but it’s just, I think it’s a little ways off.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 10:46 AM.
