Kentucky women’s basketball adds a veteran ACC point guard from the transfer portal
Kenny Brooks has found his next floor general.
Veteran point guard Tonie Morgan announced her commitment to join the Kentucky women’s basketball team on Tuesday after three successful seasons at Georgia Tech.
“BBN wassup,” Morgan captioned her post.
Named an All-ACC selection in each of her three seasons at Georgia Tech, the pass-first point guard found new levels of career success during her junior year. The Yellow Jackets’ assists leader and second-leading scorer averaged 5.6 assists and 13.7 points on a career-best 48.9% shooting, and recorded 4.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 0.4 blocks and a career-low 2.3 turnovers per contest. She was not a prolific 3-point threat, making just 15 of 61 attempts for 24.6%.
The 5-foot-9 Morgan posted the first triple-double of her career in the Yellow Jackets’ Jan. 19 victory over Clemson. The 12-point, 12-rebound, 14-assist performance also featured four steals and just one turnover, and marked the program’s first triple-double since 2002.
The former Florida high school star also dropped a career-high 31 points on a career-best 12 made field goals (60% shooting) in Georgia Tech’s regular-season finale loss at Stanford on March 2.
In 96 career appearances, Morgan made 95 starts for Georgia Tech, including in each of the program’s 33 contests during its 22-11 campaign in 2024-25 — its highest win total since 2016-17. This past season, Morgan helped Georgia Tech to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2022; the program was awarded a No. 9 seed before falling 74-49 to a high-powered, eighth-seeded Richmond roster in Los Angeles.
Against the Spiders, Morgan contributed 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, plus seven rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 29 minutes.
Amid external concerns regarding finding a replacement for Georgia Amoore, who was selected sixth overall by the Washington Mystics in Monday’s WNBA draft, Brooks spoke to the approach he and his staff were taking during an April 1 SiriusXM appearance on “SEC This Morning.”
“First and foremost, I don’t know if you can replace her,” Brooks said. “You’re always going to need a point guard, and you may have to do it by committee. And we’ve been very careful that, as we recruit her replacement, that we’re not trying to make them be Georgia Amoore.”
Though the future of UK’s point guard position seems bright, as Kentucky holds a commitment from 2026 standout Maddyn Greenway (No. 18 nationally) out of Providence (Minnesota) Academy, Morgan’s addition should provide fans a sense of relief that the Wildcats are in experienced, more-than-capable hands for 2025-26.
Morgan was one of seven Yellowjackets reported to have entered the transfer portal after the 2024-25 season; Georgia Tech announced the retirement of head coach Nell Fortner at the end of March after six seasons with the Yellow Jackets, and 15 overall seasons as a college head coach.
Kentucky’s roster increases to 11 players
Morgan is the third transfer to pick UK this offseason, joining former Western Kentucky guard Josie Gilvin, who announced her commitment to the Wildcats on April 4, and former Liberty guard Asia Boone, who pledged April 10.
UK’s 2025-26 roster will also feature 6-3 wing Kaelyn Carroll, the No. 15 national prospect in the class of 2025 and a McDonald’s All-American; next season’s Kentucky roster now boasts 11 players.
Seven Wildcats are slated to return for Brooks’ second season at the helm — 6-2 guard Lexi Blue, 5-10 guard Gabby Brooks, 6-3 forward Amelia Hassett, 6-4 forward Teonni Key, 6-1 guard Jordan Obi, 6-1 guard Dominika Paurová and 6-5 center Clara Strack.
Both Obi and Paurová medically redshirted last season due to lower-leg injuries sustained during the offseason, but are expected to play key roles next season.
After Kentucky’s season-ending loss to Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, UK had to say goodbye to both Amoore and Dazia Lawrence, who spent their remaining year of eligibility returning the program to the national stage.
Four others have since announced their departures from the program — Cassidy Rowe retired from basketball after three seasons with the Wildcats, while Tanah Becker, Clara Silva (TCU) and Saniah Tyler (Missouri) each entered the transfer portal in search of new opportunities.
