‘A big to develop.’ The long-term plan for Kentucky’s Elsa Vadfors
Last week, Kentucky women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks told local media that he doesn’t expect international freshman Elsa Vadfors to “be able to contribute for us a lot this year.”
However, there is a development plan in place for Vadfors as Brooks and his staff embrace the opportunity to expand the Swedish center’s game.
Vadfors played professional basketball for Uppsala Basket in Uppsala, Sweden, during the 2024-25 season, averaging 1.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.1 assists, 0.4 blocks, 0.3 steals and 1.6 personal fouls in 10.4 minutes across 20 games, shooting 40.7% from the floor. The Hudiksvall native has also represented Sweden on the U18 team.
She announced her commitment to Kentucky on May 18 via social media and told the Herald-Leader at the program’s media day that, though her recruitment process came later than typical, it was the relationships that brought her to Kentucky.
“Once I talked to Coach Brooks and the whole family, it felt right,” Vadfors said. “And they were so nice to me, and just opening about the facilities and all of the possibilities here. So, it just felt like the right place.”
Kentucky assistant coach Josh Petersen described Vadfors’ path to Kentucky as “late in the scene.” The Wildcats — who Petersen said were in search of “a big to develop,” — found Vadfors, who stands 6-foot-5, and identified her as a good potential fit for the system.
“I think she’s strong,” Petersen said. “But she’s mobile, too. And that’s the one piece that’s, whether we’re running a down-and-back or whatever, she’s able to stay with the guard. She’s got the mobility we like, the size, the strength. And that’s a huge part of it is, ‘How big are you?’ Especially in our league, like, ‘Do you have the physical attributes?’”
Ahead of last season, Brooks and his staff brought in 6-7 international prospect Clara Silva for a similar role. The Portuguese center served as the primary backup for starting post Clara Strack while averaging 4.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 12.5 minutes per contest; Silva transferred to TCU during the offseason.
Strack, who came with Brooks from Virginia Tech to Kentucky ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, received little in-game responsibility for the majority of her freshman year due to her backing up and learning from All-America center Liz Kitley. Not until a torn ACL prematurely ended Kitley’s final season did Strack not only start a game for the Hokies but shoulder the expectation of consistent, starter-level production through the postseason.
Strack, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, is expected to be a major part of what the Wildcats hope will be a successful season. Vadfors might not have the same usage as Silva or Strack did during her own freshman campaign, but she will be expected to tackle the developmental aspect of her first year with “perfect intent” — a program mantra.
Off the court, Vadfors studies engineering. Petersen praised her strength in the classroom, and connected her enthusiasm for learning with how the team would like her to approach basketball.
“The cool thing about Elsa is she is amazing in the classroom,” Petersen said. “And she is a really quick learner, probably one of our best students on the team. And when you’re doing it in a different language, that’s even more impressive. And I think the biggest thing for her right now is just to be a sponge. Soak it up. There’s a lot to learn, whether it’s terminology or the way we do things. So, hers is going to be a process of just learning, applying, not getting overly frustrated, do it again.”
Petersen noted Vadfors’ professional experience allows her to see the game differently and said her “mental capacity” with her height and length “give her a great chance,” and now it’s a matter of refining her skill set while facing the challenges that come with moving continents to attend university.
“She’s a tremendous person,” Petersen said. “The big step for her, too, is being an international freshman is huge. And she’s handled adjusting and all that in a really great manner. And I think that, yeah, she’s going to be just fine. ‘Just keep it steady and see what happens and continue to develop,’ I think is going to be big for her.”
At media day, Brooks gave an honest perspective on Vadfors’ progress, and said he was “very pleased” with what he’d seen from her since she arrived on campus this summer.
“Elsa is obviously, she’s got a long ways to go,” Brooks said. “We understand that. But one thing you can’t do is teach height. So, I wouldn’t expect her to be able to contribute for us a lot this year, but she’s continuing to work, and we understand that. Very, very pleased with her progress and what she’s been able to do.”
Vadfors said she feels like college basketball in the United States is “the best way to develop your game,” due to the volume of new things to learn while playing against strong competition.
“It’s a little bit different, the game from here to Sweden” Vadfors said. “There’s a lot of different rules and things like that. And the game is a little bit more physical and faster here, but I’m doing my best to adjust.”
While Vadfors develops for the future, No. 24 Kentucky enters its 52nd season as a program and second under Brooks. The Wildcats (1-0) defeated Morehead State 75-59 in Monday’s season opener.
UK hosts Monmouth (1-0) on Thursday at Memorial Coliseum. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+. The Hawks beat Division II Chestnut Hill 81-42 on Monday.
