‘I will always bleed blue.’ Lone Kentuckian on the UK women’s basketball roster retires
Cassidy Rowe’s basketball career has come to an end.
Rowe, a junior point guard out of Shelby Valley High School who was the lone Kentuckian on the roster for Kenny Brooks’ first season at the helm of Kentucky women’s basketball, announced her retirement from the sport via an Instagram post on Saturday afternoon.
“Wow … I wasn’t expecting this to be a goodbye post,” Rowe wrote. “I wanted nothing more than to play my senior year in a Kentucky uniform, but I know that God has bigger and better plans for me. Sometimes ‘no’ is God’s way of preventing us from greater heartbreak. What a blessing basketball has been in my life. Basketball was my very first love. I spent every single day in the gym working towards a dream that many people called me crazy for having. After facing back to back ACL tears, I sometimes questioned it myself. But through hard work and God’s faithfulness I was able to represent my home state and become a Kentucky Wildcat. Truly a dream come true. …
“While I still have a year of eligibility left, I will not be entering the transfer portal,” she added. “I will be pursuing my new dream of becoming a physical therapist through UK’s DPT program. “Younger me would be crushed that our basketball career is over, but she also wouldn’t believe all of the things we’ve accomplished. I know she is proud.
“To Big Blue Nation: Thank you. Thank you for your unwavering support and for giving this small town girl the opportunity to live out her wildest dreams. I poured everything I have into this program and you all poured into me just the same. I will forever be grateful for that … and I will always bleed blue.”
Rowe, from Virgie, Ky., was one of just two holdovers from the Kyra Elzy era to remain at UK following the hiring of Kenny Brooks; fellow junior guard Saniah Tyler also opted to stay for Brooks’ first season but announced her entry to the transfer portal on March 25.
A member of Elzy’s six-person freshman class in 2022, Rowe initially committed to former head coach Matthew Mitchell. Despite sustaining two separate ACL tears before her sophomore year of high school, Rowe persevered through her recovery, the remainder of her high school career and three separate UK coaching changes as she realized her dream of suiting up for the Wildcats.
As a freshman at UK, Rowe received minimal playing time. Her usage skyrocketed as a sophomore. During the 2022-23 campaign, Rowe averaged 2.5 points, 1.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.2 steals in 17.4 minutes per game while also leading the Wildcats in charges taken, exceeding 20 through 31 games. This season, Rowe averaged just 10.9 minutes across 23 contests and served as relief for All-America point guard Georgia Amoore while averaging 0.8 points, 0.6 rebounds, 0.3 steals and 0.1 blocks.
Her best performance this season came against Purdue Fort Wayne on Nov. 18, where she recorded six points, three rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block in about 30 minutes.
This story was originally published March 29, 2025 at 6:12 PM.
