‘We’ve set a precedent.’ Record-breaking WNBA Draft proves Kentucky on the rise
As each of his four WNBA Draft picks’ names were called Monday night, Kenny Brooks said he saw flashes of all their hard work to earn opportunities at the next level.
“You know, sometimes they say when your life flashes in front of you?” Brooks said. “For me, I saw all the hard work that they put into everything to get to this point, and how they wouldn’t have been able to achieve it without each other. … It just shows you you’re on the right path to building something special.”
Kentucky’s record-breaking season may have officially come to a close with the team’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 loss to Texas in March, but its impact — and the declaration that Kentucky is here to stay on the national stage — was felt when UK produced four WNBA Draft picks for the first time in program history. Only 2026 NCAA national champion UCLA produced more, a WNBA-record six picks.
The selections of Teonni Key, taken No. 22 overall by the Toronto Tempo; Tonie Morgan, picked No. 32 by the Chicago Sky; Amelia Hassett, chosen No. 35 by the Los Angeles Sparks, and Jordan Obi, drafted No. 44 by the Las Vegas Aces, pushed Kentucky’s all-time number of WNBA Draft picks to 12.
After not seeing a Kentucky player drafted since 2022 — when All-American Rhyne Howard was selected first overall by the Atlanta Dream — Big Blue Nation has now witnessed five picks over the course of Brooks’ young Kentucky tenure; former UK and Virginia Tech All-America point guard Georgia Amoore was chosen sixth overall by the Washington Mystics in last year’s WNBA Draft.
“It was surreal,” Brooks said. “(I’m) on cloud nine, very happy for them. Because you see everything that they put into the craft, but all the while still having a team concept. And to watch them come off the board, it was extremely exciting.”
This year’s class also marked the fifth consecutive draft with at least one Kenny Brooks-coached selection, dating back to the Aces picking former Hokie Aisha Sheppard in the second round of the 2022 WNBA Draft.
For an institution long known for producing NBA players under former coaching staffs, Kentucky never made much of an impact on the WNBA until Howard, now approaching her fifth season with the Dream. She has racked up accolades such as 2022 Rookie of the Year, 2025 All-Defensive Second Teamer and a trio of All-Star selections.
Howard is the undisputed face of a talent-packed franchise chasing its first WNBA title. A 2024 bronze medalist for 3x3 Basketball at the Paris Olympics, she represents Kentucky women’s basketball at the sport’s highest levels, but does so alone.
Bringing in Brooks was a clear show of investment in the program, with his hiring coming just one season after the completion of the historic renovation of Memorial Coliseum. It gave hope to longtime fans desperate to see UK return to the national stage, rebuild stronger than its previous postseason ceiling of the Elite Eight and contend with powers like South Carolina and Tennessee.
Now standing atop the foundation of two full seasons in Lexington, Brooks called these first two years “a tremendous success” upon which he and his staff will continue to build. And he plans to do it his way.
His way, he emphasized at a Tuesday media availability, is rooted in development. Regardless of the number of stars a recruit may have, or the number of minutes logged by a college player, Brooks is committed to preparing his interested athletes for professional basketball. The record-best four Wildcats drafted Monday night, Brooks said, “does a lot” for the program.
“With the portal and just in (the) future, people know that if you come to the University of Kentucky, you’re going to be developed,” Brooks said. “You’re gonna win, you’re gonna get developed, you’re gonna be able to achieve your dream after college.”
It’s something that Brooks sells to prospects, and something, he said, they sold to Key, Morgan, Hassett and Obi.
Key may have been a 2021 top-10 prospect and McDonald’s All-American, but a preseason ACL tear delayed her breakout. After playing limited minutes in each of her two healthy seasons at North Carolina in the years following her recovery, Key took a chance on Brooks with WNBA hopes.
“Coming to Kentucky is just so amazing,” Key said. “It was such a great opportunity that Coach Brooks and the staff allowed me to come here, I’m just forever grateful and indebted to them. Without them pouring into me, without them giving me a chance and loving me and showing me how good I can be and just pouring into me in that way, I wouldn’t be here.”
Morgan, the highest profile of the bunch at the time of her transfer last summer, had spent three years honing her skill set at the point guard position under Nell Fortner at Georgia Tech. The three-time All-ACC honoree chose Kentucky for her final season, in part, because of Brooks’ development of Amoore, and his own playing history at the position.
“Being here was the best move I could’ve made,” Morgan said. “Playing at Kentucky in the SEC, it’s one of the best leagues in the country. Very physical, just like the pros. And playing for Coach Brooks, he’s a point guard, knows how to coach point guards, so a great situation.”
Australian-born Hassett transferred to UK after a pair of successful seasons at Eastern Florida State College, earning National Junior College Athletic Association Division I All-America Third Team honors as a sophomore. From junior college standout to SEC starter, Hassett worked her way into professional consideration.
“It’s amazing,” Hassett said. “Props to Coach Brooks, the coaching staff, everything they do. Being there for each other, honestly, it’s so cool to see all of us achieve our dreams and see where the WNBA can take us.”
Obi, who earned a medical redshirt ahead of the 2024-25 campaign because of a lower-leg injury, moved from starter to sixth player for the Wildcats over the course of this season. Though none of the four draftees necessarily expected to land exactly where they did, the former three-year standout at Penn was shocked to hear her name called.
“(I was) actually about to turn it off,” Obi said. “And then I saw my name on the screen. … A testament to Coach Brooks developing his players, playing here in his system, being here at Kentucky. … Being able to play in the SEC, one of the best conferences in the world. The eyes that the SEC gets, making it to the Sweet 16, all very important things.”
Several conference and/or individual award winners across the country, such as Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers, Richmond’s Maggie Doogan, Indiana’s Shay Ciezki and Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke, did not hear their names called in this year’s draft. But, Brooks said, each of the four GMs to draft Wildcats — Toronto’s Monica Wright Rogers, Chicago’s Jeff Pagliocca, LA’s Raegan Pebley and Las Vegas’ Nikki Fargas — told him specifically that Kentucky’s style of play was attractive to front offices.
“One of the things that we do as a staff is that we don’t just try to make them better for our system,” Brooks said. “We want to make them better for after, and we talk about that, we want to make them better for their futures.”
Brooks, who said each player “had their own path, their own dream,” spent the season sharing with local media that several of his players were receiving interest from WNBA scouts. Monday’s events served as proof.
“We weren’t just blowing smoke,” Brooks said. “We knew they had potential. Their size, their skill set, their ability to work well with each other. That was very attractive. And that’s one of the things that we’ve set a precedent here. I talked to each and every one of their GMs last night, and they were all just talking about the way that we play at Kentucky, and how it translates to the next level.”
The Wildcats are projected to produce a first-round pick next season in 2026 Lisa Leslie National Center of the Year Finalist Clara Strack.
Though the Herald-Leader has confirmed that the program lost former five-star prospect Kaelyn Carroll to the transfer portal, UK will reportedly welcome UConn transfer forward Ayanna Patterson — the No. 4 overall prospect in the class of 2022 who only played two seasons with the Huskies because of injuries — and Alabama transfer guard Diana Collins, who spent two seasons with the Crimson Tide, starting in every game this year, after a freshman year at Ohio State.
“It’s amazing just to be a part of an amazing group,” Morgan said. “The future is very bright. I can’t wait to look and see what they do in the future. I’m excited to see what happens for the program.”
