‘Like a second-semester freshman.’ UK’s Kaelyn ‘KK’ Carroll coming into her own
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks limits freshman minutes; Carroll earns more time.
- Carroll shows scoring range and defense, delivering key minutes vs Oklahoma.
- Her season averages remain modest, but growth offers depth after injuries.
Kaelyn “KK” Carroll’s classification as a five-star prospect promised the potential for a future superstar, but — at least at Kentucky (16-2, 3-1 SEC) — it did not promise immediate playing time.
Kenny Brooks isn’t one to lean too heavily on his freshmen, even those ranked within the national top-100.
Junior post Clara Strack, the No. 95 overall prospect in the class of 2023, wasn’t utilized in earnest during her freshman campaign until All-America center Liz Kitley went down with a torn ACL in Virginia Tech’s regular-season finale. Sophomore guard Lexi Blue, the No. 40 overall prospect in the class of 2024, still only averages 12.4 minutes per game this year. Swedish center Elsa Vadfors, Carroll’s fellow freshman, has not played at all for the Wildcats this season.
But Carroll, Kentucky’s first five-star signee and McDonald’s All-American since ex-Cat Treasure Hunt signed with the Wildcats in 2020, understandably had a bit of additional hype surrounding her.
She’s a 6-foot-3 wing who went off to boarding school years ago to prioritize a disciplined, demanding environment for both academics and basketball; a multi-faceted force with court awareness; a killer 3-point shooter.
Brooks noted ahead of the season that he felt Carroll would be an important part of the path to success the Wildcats hoped to achieve this year. But — as with any other first-year player — he expected Carroll to make freshman mistakes and, at least on some days, struggle to adjust to the speed and demands of the college game.
Through 16 games played, Carroll is averaging 5.3 points (on 39% shooting from the field, including 35% shooting from 3-point range), 2.9 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.6 blocks and 0.4 turnovers in 14.3 minutes.
However, prior to the start of SEC play, Carroll only played significant minutes against non-power-conference competition.
In 21 minutes of a 58-point win over Monmouth, the second game of the season, Carroll finished with seven points, six rebounds and two assists. She didn’t play in the team’s rivalry game at Louisville, nor in its ACC-SEC Challenge matchup at Miami (Florida).
While Carroll did get some run against then-top-10 Maryland in Puerto Rico, it was only 3 minutes — and she went 0 for 2 from the field and didn’t register elsewhere on the stat sheet.
Offensively, Carroll’s best performances have come against low-major schools.
She recorded 15 points (on 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc) in 24 minutes during a Nov. 28 win blowout against Morgan State. Carroll bested that with 18 points (sinking 6 of her 11 3-point attempts) against Wright State on Dec. 19, when the Wildcats trounced the Raiders.
Given Carroll’s usage through the nonconference slate, it wasn’t a surprise to see a combined 14 minutes of combined playing time for the freshman at LSU and against Missouri.
It also wasn’t shocking to see Brooks lean on Carroll out of necessity in UK’s 64-51 loss at Alabama, a shorthanded disappointment without Teonni Key in which Strack went 1 for 13 from the field. Against the Crimson Tide, Carroll clocked 19 minutes and contributed five points and two rebounds.
But in Sunday’s win against top-five Oklahoma — the Wildcats’ progam-bestsecond top-five victory of the season — Carroll posted the best all-around performance of her young career.
The same shorthanded Wildcats defeated the Sooners 63-57, and Carroll played 19 minutes. She contributed five points on 2-of-6 shooting from the field, including one 3-pointer, and added twp rebounds, an assist, a steal and two blocks. Against the fiercely competitive Sooners, she turned the ball over just once.
Brooks’ biggest takeaway? “She looked like a second-semester freshman,” and put on what he believes to be the best game she’s played yet.
“Very proud of her,” Brooks said. “Because we know KK can make shots, and she can help us on the offensive end, but where she really helped us the most was that — and I don’t mean this in a bad way, it’s just freshmen — she was not a liability on defense.
“And she came out there, I think she contested (veteran guard Payton) Verhulst’s shot a couple times and made her take some tough shots, and we needed that, because I think Jordan (Obi) got in foul trouble. But KK, she gave us a lift. And she’s had a game, I think, where she had like, 18 points or 20 points or something like that. This is by far her best overall performance to help us to win in a very meaningful way.”
Carroll’s development into “a second-semester freshman,” comes not a moment too soon for Kentucky, which is still navigating the fallout from Key’s injury, a dislocated elbow sustained against Missouri that will keep the senior forward out of commission for the foreseeable future.
The Wildcats next face Florida (12-7, 0-4) at Memorial Coliseum Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
