Who are Kentucky’s top 25 girls’ high school basketball players for 2021-22?
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2021-22 High School Basketball Preview
The Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com is publishing season preview stories leading up to the start of the 2021-22 high school basketball season on Monday, Nov. 29. You can read everything we’ve published to this point by clicking on this drop-down list. All of the stories are also available in our print and e-editions.
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Below is the preseason top 25 ranking of Kentucky high school girls’ basketball players for the 2021-22 season, as voted on by coaches in a statewide survey conducted by the Lexington Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com.
The top 10 players are listed with their school along with grade level, height and last season’s points per game in parentheses along with a brief comment. The next 15 players are listed with their school, grade level and last season’s points per game along with their choice of college, if known. All players appearing on at least two ballots receive honorable mention.
Top 10 players
1. Amiya Jenkins, Anderson County (5-11 Sr., 17.2 points per game): Jenkins, who committed to Kentucky on Oct. 18, is the only in-state recruit ranked among this year’s HoopGurlz ESPNW 100. She’s a four-star prospect. She picked the Cats over offers including Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Rutgers. “What she’s able to do for our team is second to none,” Coach Clay Birdwhistell said during the Bearcats’ run to last season’s Sweet 16 semifinals. A force on the state’s preseason No. 2 team, expect Jenkins to be a top contender for this year’s Miss Basketball honor and to lead Anderson’s red, white and blue to more glory before she dons the blue and white. Twitter: @Amiy_aaa.
2. Gracie Merkle, Bullitt East (6-6 Sr., 18.3 ppg): With soft hands and a deft touch around the rim, it’s obvious how Merkle, who recently announced her commitment to Bellarmine, can shoot a state-leading 73.5% from the field. She reels in 11.5 rebounds per game, many on the offensive end, which gives her teammates tremendous confidence on their own shots, because, chances are, their misses will be her makes. Twitter: @GracieMerkle.
3. ZaKiyah Johnson, Sacred Heart (5-11 Fr., 21.8 ppg): There have been a number of high-profile transfers in boys’ and girls’ basketball this season, but perhaps none were bigger than Johnson’s move from Shelby County to the state champion Valkyries. One of two Kentucky freshmen on the class of 2025 HoopGurlz espnW Watch List, Coach Donna Moir believes Johnson could be a future McDonald’s All-American and calls her “the premier player in the state of Kentucky in her age group and possibly any age group.” She is uncommitted with upwards of 25 Division I offers. Twitter: @ZJohnson_06.
4. Jaileyah Cotton, Bardstown (5-6 Sr., 21.4 ppg): Though knocked off in the 5th Region tournament, the Tigers racked up wins over a number of Sweet 16 teams last season, including Bullitt East, Bethlehem, Clark County and Sacred Heart under the leadership of Cotton, a scoring point guard who also grabbed 7.2 rebounds per game. Last year, the East Tennessee State commit rebounded from a serious concussion that cut her sophomore year short to lead the Tigers in scoring for a third year in a row. Twitter: @jaileyah_c.
5. Triniti Ralston, Sacred Heart (5-8 Jr., 13.2 ppg): Sacred Heart’s leading scorer runs Coach Moir’s offense and remains undecided on a number of D-I offers. Moir calls Ralston “the best on-ball defender in the state” and adds that she’s “unselfish and can get to the rim anytime she wants.” Ralston made the Sweet 16 all-tournament team, scoring a team-high 18 points in the finals, and was Herald-Leader second-team all-state.
6. Cassidy Rowe, Shelby Valley (5-6 Sr., 12.9 ppg): Rowe earned a Kentucky scholarship offer after a breakout eighth-grade season in 2018 and accepted almost immediately. She then suffered separate ACL tears in each knee in back-to-back summers as a freshman and sophomore. Rowe got back on the court late in her sophomore year and was full-go during last year’s COVID-19 marred season. She fulfilled her dream of signing with UK on Nov. 12. UK Coach Kyra Elzy: “Cassidy is a blue-collar player committed to doing whatever it takes to be successful. She has dealt with some injuries. We have never doubted her, they never doubted us.” Twitter: @cassidyballer5.
7. Leah Macy, Bardstown (6-1 Fr., 18.9 ppg): Macy joined Sacred Heart’s Johnson on the 2025 HoopGurlz espnW Watch List. And like Johnson, Macy also transferred away from the school she played for as a seventh- and eighth-grader. Macy averaged a double-double for Elizabethtown last season (12.7 rebounds), and her addition to the Tigers won’t make life easier on anyone in the 5th Region. Macy already has as many as 14 D-I offers, including Kentucky and Louisville. Twitter: @leahcmacy.
8. Josie Gilvin, Sacred Heart (5-11 Sr., 9.8 ppg): How does a player who averaged single digits scoring become Sweet 16 MVP? All-out hustle. The Western Kentucky commit had a triple double with 10 steals against Knott County; scored 19 points on 13-for-14 from the free-throw line and grabbed 11 boards and five steals against Anderson County; and notched eight boards, five assists, five blocks and five steals against Marshall County in the finals. That’ll do. Twitter: @josiegilvin33.
9. Halle Langhi, Marshall County (6-3½ Sr., 12.8 ppg): Langhi led the 1st Region champs and state runners-up in rebounds with 8.1 per game and was second in scoring. A Sweet 16 all-tournament team and third-team all-state honoree, Langhi also played volleyball for the Marshals, leading them in kills and helping them win a 4th District title this past season.
10. Haven Ford, Rowan County (5-5 Jr., 23.5 ppg): Ford has led the Vikings in scoring since she was in eighth grade and averaged a double-double last year with 10.6 rebounds per game to go with her scoring efforts. Ford has as many as seven D-I offers, including Marshall, Northern Kentucky and hometown Morehead State. Twitter: @HavenFord4.
The next 15
11. Abby Holtman, Ryle (5-11 Jr., 12.9 ppg): Uncommitted.
12. Trinity Rowe, Pikeville (5-5 So., 15.1 ppg): Uncommitted.
13. Shaelyn Steele, Russell (5-6 So., 13.7 ppg): Uncommitted.
14. Jaya McClure, Christian Academy-Louisville (5-6½ Sr., 17 ppg): Ohio.
15. Timberlynn Yeast, Mercer County (5-9 Jr., 20 ppg): Uncommitted.
16. Brianna Byars, Clark County (5-10 Jr., 16.7 ppg): Uncommitted.
17. Meadow Tisdale, Bowling Green (5-10½ Jr., 13.9 ppg): Uncommitted.
18. Rachel Presley, South Laurel (6-2 Sr., 14.4 ppg): Campbellsville.
19. Kennedy Lee, Manual (6-0 Sr., 13.6 ppg): Uncommitted.
20. Destiny Thomas, McCracken County (6-0 Jr., 14.8 ppg*): Uncommitted.
21. Xaviara Smalley, Bethlehem (6-2 Sr., 9.7 ppg): Uncommitted.
22. Anaya Brown, Lafayette (6-1 Sr., 17.7 ppg): Tennessee-Martin.
23. Hailee Valentine, North Laurel (5-7 Sr., 18.4 ppg): Uncommitted.
24. Lacey Bradshaw, Notre Dame (5-8 Sr., 14.4 ppg): Morehead State.
25. Emma Egan, Bullitt East (5-8 Sr., 11.9 ppg): La Salle.
Honorable mention
(Players appearing on at least two coaches’ top 10s, listed in points order)
Kensley Feltner, Lawrence County; Amaya Asher, Central; Whitney Lind, Cooper; Reagan Bender, Sacred Heart; Audrey Biggs, Boyd County; Isabel Grimes, Breckinridge County; Patience Laster, Franklin County; Jakayla Thompson, Manual; Lexy Lynch, Owsley County; Camryn Lagrange, Madisonville; Halle Collins, Knox Central; LynKaylah James, Bowling Green; Kay Freihofer, Cooper; Tyra Flowers, Clark County.
Methodology: Our annual survey was emailed to all 271 KHSAA girls’ basketball coaches in Kentucky, using their email registered with the KHSAA. Multiple attempts were made to encourage every school to participate. Coaches were asked to select their top 10 players and points were assigned based on a player’s position on the ballot (10 points for No. 1, nine points for No. 2, eight points for No. 3, etc.), and tabulated across all ballots received; some schools participated in the survey but declined to vote due to unfamiliarity with players and teams outside of their own area. A total of 76 coaches (28 percent) voted in our top-10 players poll out of the 171 coaches (63.1 percent) who responded to the survey and supplied information about their teams.
* Sophomore average. Thomas missed last season with an injury.
2021-22 Season Preview
This is the fourth of eight stories the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com is publishing in the coming days previewing the 2020-21 high school boys’ and girls’ basketball seasons, which are scheduled to tip off Nov. 29.
This story was originally published November 25, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
