2025 Kentucky Miss Basketball finalists announced. See all 18 players.
Sacred Heart’s ZaKiyah Johnson and Madison Central’s Nataya Strader were among 18 Kentucky girls high school basketball seniors who earned region player of the year honors Friday, and with it a nomination for the sport’s highest individual honor, 2025 Miss Kentucky Basketball.
Despite a number of high-caliber girls players this season, Johnson, a 6-foot forward signed with LSU, will be a prohibitive favorite for Miss Basketball when voters, including coaches, media members and past honorees, cast their ballots on Feb. 28.
Johnson is a three-time Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and three-time Girls’ Sweet 16 Most Valuable Player for the four-time defending state champion Valkyries out of the 7th Region. She averages 22.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this season for the state’s No. 1 girls team three years running. Johnson ranks as the No. 13 player in the nation for the class of 2025, according to ESPN’s HoopGurlz recruiting rankings.
But other worthy candidates abound, including Notre Dame signee Leah Macy of Bethlehem (No. 19 on the HoopGurlz list), Michigan signee Ciara Byars (HoopGurlz No. 65) of George Rogers Clark and Louisville signee Grace Mbugua of Danville Christian. Unfortunately, each of those three have missed part of their senior seasons due to injury.
Byars shared 10th Region player of the year honors with Bracken County’s Nicole Archibald and Paris’ Brooklyn White.
Madison Central’s Strader, a 5-6 guard, averages 17.8 points per game for the No. 11 Indians, who will be trying for their first 11th Region title since 2013 when the postseason begins Monday. She’s Madison Central’s first Miss Basketball finalist since Larryn Brooks, a member of that 2013 team.
The boys and girls region players of the year were announced Friday morning by the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation via its social media channels, including Facebook. In conjunction with the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches, the KLEF conducts a survey each year of coaches and media for the region player of the year awards in advance of a separate vote over the next several days for Mr. and Miss Basketball.
Mr. and Miss Basketball and other honors will be presented at the annual Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony on March 16 at the Griffin Gate Marriott in Lexington.
Miss Basketball finalists
The 2025 KABC region players of the year with school, height, position, this season’s points per game through Thursday and college choice. The awards are reserved for seniors.
1st Region: Hannah Glisson, Graves County, 5-7 guard, 12.9 points (Transylvania).
2nd Region: NeVaeh Day, Christian County, 5-11 forward, 16.7 points (Rend Lake).
3rd Region: Peyton Bradley, Meade County, 5-10 point guard, 27.7 points (undecided).
4th Region: LaReesha Cawthorn, Franklin-Simpson, 6-0 forward, 21 points (Tennessee Tech).
5th Region: Leah Macy, Bethlehem, 6-3 forward, 27 points (Notre Dame).
6th Region: Noel Smith, Whitefield Academy, 5-8 forward, 20.3 points (Cumberlands).
7th Region: ZaKiyah Johnson, Sacred Heart, 6-0 forward, 22.1 points (LSU).
8th Region: Lainey Johnson, Anderson County, 6-0 guard, 22.7 points (Campbellsville).
9th Region: Caroline Eaglin, Newport Central Catholic, 5-9 guard, 22 points (Northern Kentucky).
10th Region: Nicole Archibald, Bracken County, 5-7 point guard, 15.3 points (Mount St. Joseph);
▪ Ciara Byars, George Rogers Clark, 6-2 forward, 10.1 points (Michigan);
▪ Brooklyn White, Paris, 6-0 forward, 15.5 points (undecided).
11th Region: Nataya Strader, Madison Central, 5-6 guard, 17.8 points (undecided).
12th Region: Grace Mbugua, Danville Christian, 6-5 center, 21.9 points (Louisville).
13th Region: Brooke Nichelson, North Laurel, 5-11 forward, 23 points (Murray State).
14th Region: Kyra McAlarnis, Knott County Central, 5-10 guard, 22.2 points (undecided).
15th Region: Sophie Adkins, Lawrence County, 5-10 point guard, 23.7 points (undecided).
16th Region: Kenleigh Woods, Ashland Blazer, 5-9 point guard, 15.9 points (Eastern Kentucky).
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 10:30 AM.
