The 2025 Lexington Herald-Leader All-State Girls Basketball Teams are here
The Herald-Leader is proud to announce its 2025 All-State Girls Basketball Teams as voted on by high school coaches across the commonwealth.
Sacred Heart’s ZaKiyah Johnson, a 6-foot forward signed with Louisiana State and recently honored as this year’s Miss Kentucky Basketball, tops our All-State list as Herald-Leader Girls Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive season.
Johnson garnered 93 player of the year votes and appeared on 104 of the 108 ballots submitted by the state’s girls high school coaches. With Sacred Heart’s ninth overall Girls’ Sweet 16 title and unprecedented fifth straight, Johnson earner her fourth straight state tournament most valuable player honor to go with her fourth consecutive pick as Kentucky Gatorade player of the year.
Second in the voting was Bethlehem’s Leah Macy, a 6-2 Notre Dame signee who had her season cut short by injury at this year’s All “A” Classic small-school tournament. Macy got four player of the year nods. Fellow first-teamers, Grace Mbugua of Danville Christian, Peyton Bradley of Meade County, Brooke Nichelson of North Laurel and Lainey Johnson of Anderson County, got one top vote each.
The Herald-Leader All-State Teams are based on coaches’ selections in a statewide survey conducted by the Lexington Herald-Leader/Kentucky.com. Players are listed in order of point totals based on coaches’ votes. There are three teams of 10 players, plus 20 honorable mentions.
First Team
| Player, School | Ht. | Class | PPG | Notes | All-State Points | POY Votes | Ballots |
| ZaKiyah Johnson, Sacred Heart | 6-0 | Sr. | 21.2 | Miss Basketball, LSU signee and four-time Girls’ Sweet 16 MVP | 1,021 | 93 | 104 |
| Leah Macy, Bethlehem | 6-3 | Sr. | 27.0 | Notre Dame signee with 3,110 points and 1,773 rebounds for her career | 651 | 4 | 82 |
| Grace Mbugua, Danville Christian | 6-5 | Sr. | 22.3 | Louisville signee led Warriors to back-to-back 12th Region titles | 579 | 1 | 83 |
| Ciara Byars, George Rogers Clark | 6-2 | Sr. | 10.0 | Michigan signee part of five 10th Region title teams | 465 | 0 | 76 |
| Peyton Bradley, Meade County | 5-10 | Sr. | 28.2 | Louisville signee, 3rd Region player of the year and one state’s best 3-point and free throw shooters | 427 | 1 | 69 |
| Brooke Nichelson, North Laurel | 5-11 | Sr. | 23.8 | Murray State signee, 13th Region player of the year | 323 | 1 | 67 |
Kennedy Stamper, George Rogers Clark | 5-5 | So. | 12.0 | Scored game-high 27 points in state semis win over Frederick Douglass | 181 | 0 | 35 |
| Lainey Johnson, Anderson County | 6-0 | Sr. | 21.1 | Campbellsville commit, 8th Region player of the year | 154 | 1 | 33 |
| Haylee Noel, Cooper | 6-0 | So. | 16.5 | Scored 34 points in state quarterfinals loss to No. 1 Sacred Heart | 143 | 0 | 38 |
| LaReesha Cawthorn, Franklin-Simpson | 6-0 | Sr. | 20.5 | Tennessee Tech commit, 4th Region player of the year | 141 | 0 | 37 |
Second Team
| Player, School | Ht. | Class | PPG |
| Jaelee Knowles, Frederick Douglass | 6-0 | So. | 17.6 |
| Kenleigh Woods, Ashland Blazer | 5-9 | Sr. | 15.8 |
| Maggie Simons, Nicholas County | 5-10 | So. | 30.4 |
| Ashlinn James, Assumption | 5-9 | Jr. | 12.2 |
| Amirah “Tootie” Jordan, Sacred Heart | 5-5 | So. | 13.0 |
| Kyra McAlarnis, Knott County Central | 5-10 | Sr. | 22.7 |
| Kennedy Deener, Taylor County | 5-8 | 8th | 19.0 |
| Halle Collins, Knox Central | 5-11 | Sr. | 19.7 |
| Noel Smith, Whitefield Academy | 5-8 | Sr. | 20.0 |
| Brynli Pernell, Simon Kenton | 5-5 | So. | 14.7 |
Third Team
| Player, School | Ht. | Class | PPG |
| Caroline Eaglin, Newport Central Catholic | 5-9 | Sr. | 22.4 |
| Claire Marshall, West Jessamine | 5-11 | So. | 15.2 |
| Kylie Kinner, Paintsville | 5-10 | So. | 24.6 |
| Alaya Quisenberry, Danville Christian | 5-3 | Sr. | 13.4 |
| Sophie Adkins, Lawrence County | 5-10 | Sr. | 23.5 |
| NeVaeh Day, Christian County | 5-11 | Sr. | 16.1 |
| Brooklyn White, Paris | 6-0 | Sr. | 15.4 |
| Juliana Stith, Central Hardin | 5-8 | Sr. | 20.3 |
| Teigh Yeast, George Rogers Clark | 5-6 | Jr. | 10.1 |
| Nataya Strader, Madison Central | 5-6 | Sr. | 17.7 |
Honorable mention
Maliah Courtney, Elizabethtown; Nicole Archibald, Bracken County; Taylor King, Rockcastle County; Alexys Moore, Garrard County; Bailee Duck, Assumption; Tamia Wade, Frederick Douglass; Brianna Wilkins, Sacred Heart; Sayler Lowe, Calloway County; Atylia Green, Henderson County; Ella Buckman, Bardstown; Hannah Glisson, Graves County; Madison Young, South Oldham; Marissa Green, Highlands; Diamond Wills, Rowan County; Malia Campbell, Western Hills; Aumani Nelson, Covington Holy Cross; Kinsley Molden, Southwestern; Tessa Miles, Bethlehem; Jailenn Green, George Rogers Clark; Kennedy Lane, Daviess County.
Methodology: Our annual All-State survey was emailed to 266 Kentucky high school varsity girls basketball coaches using their email registered with the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. 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 Player of the Year, nine points for No. 2, eight points for No. 3, etc.), and tabulated across all ballots received. The top 50 players receiving votes made our All-State list. This year, 108 coaches participated and all 16 regions were represented.
This story was originally published April 4, 2025 at 9:25 AM.
