Mold Remediation in Brooks, KY

March 19, 2025 • 10:00 am PDT

On a chilly March morning in Lexington, Ky., Kenny Brooks made his way to the podium inside the University of Kentucky's practice facility as one of his first duties as the program's new head women’s basketball coach. Days after his time as Virginia Tech's head coach ended, Brooks was officially introduced to Big Blue Nation.

While he fielded questions for over 40 minutes, Brooks’ most resonating point was simple: The program is a sleeping giant that needs to be awakened.

The Wildcats were coming off a 12-20 campaign, and Brooks was hired to help restore the excellence the program had historically displayed. Given the ever-evolving landscape of college athletics, the task was easier said than done.

No stranger to making good on promises, Brooks stepped down from the podium and got straight to work. In a matter of months, he rebuilt the Wildcats roster into a team that would win 18 of its first 20 games and ultimately finish fourth in one of the best conferences in college basketball. The team picked to finish eighth in the SEC would get ranked as high as eighth nationally and is set to end a three-year NCAA tournament drought as a 4-seed.

Less than one year after being introduced to Big Blue Nation, Brooks is Sporting News' Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.

WOMEN'S MARCH MADNESS HQ: Live NCAA bracket news | TV schedule | Printable PDF

Sporting News Coach of the Year: Kenny Brooks

The job that Brooks is doing in Kentucky is far from the typical worst-to-first redemption story that often results in accolades. And reducing it to such an arc would be a disservice to the job Brooks and his staff have done in Lexington.

More than just building a roster, Brooks and his staff have been tasked with rebuilding a program.

"We had to come up with a whole new roster," Brooks told Sporting News. "We brought 11 new players in out of 13, and we had to put together a full schedule, and then had to learn everything about Kentucky and continue to recruit for the [2025-26] season."

With multiple timelines — and tasks — at hand, it may have been easy to chalk Year 1 up as a transitional phase of development. That was far from the case for this Kentucky team, which needed just 14 games to surpass last season's win total, and will enter the NCAA tournament with 22 wins, the most the program has registered in five seasons.

More than just X's and O's, Kentucky's team success has been a product of the group Brooks assembled on the fly.

SN EXPERT BRACKETS: Yanchulis (UConn women) | DeCourcy (Duke) | Bender (Duke) | Iyer (Auburn)

Building the right team

The smile on Brooks' face comes through when he speaks about his first Kentucky roster. Just as he and his staff had to navigate the challenges presented by the transfer portal, his players' resolve was quickly tested.

"We put together a group of kids who really were willing to work together," Brooks said of this year's team. "What people don't realize is that we had two major injuries to start the summer — two kids that I had intended on starting didn't even play all year, and everybody else just stepped up."

Given the array of challenges the group has overcome, the 56-year-old Brooks called this "one of the more enjoyable seasons that I've ever had."

Brooks' rise within the coaching ranks began over 30 years ago as a men's assistant at VMI. A pivot to the women's side of things as an assistant at his alma mater James Madison in 2002 accelerated a two-decade journey that included 13 years leading the Dukes before an eight-year run as the leading voice in Virginia Tech's locker room.

That time in Blacksburg, Va. prepared Brooks for his next step in more ways than one.

"What I learned — especially a couple of years ago during COVID — is you have to be ready to pivot," Brooks said. "You've got to stay on top of the changes, and we are going through a lot of changes. It changes week to week and day to day right now."

The biggest change, of course, is the freedom of player movement within the NCAA's transfer portal, which can be a blessing and a curse for a new coach looking to assemble a roster. That ability to pivot gave Brooks the clarity he needed to tackle the tasks he's faced.

"I knew when we went into the portal, we didn't always try to get the best kid," Brooks said. "We wanted to get the right kid — kids we knew I had some kind of relationship with."

Those pre-existing relationships have been crucial as three players followed Brooks from Virginia Tech to Kentucky: graduate guard Georgia Amoore, sophomore center Clara Strack, and sophomore guard Gabby Brooks, Kenny's daughter.

For various reasons, that trio has played an invaluable role in helping Brooks lead this group to the heights it has reached.

"Georgia has been with me the longest and our relationship is well-documented," Brooks said of the Naismith Award semifinalist. "For her to speak the same language that I'm speaking on the court and to be able to interpret to the other players what I'm saying or what I meant — it's been tremendous, and it's probably the biggest reason for our success."

With Amoore serving as a buffer for communication between Brooks and Kentucky's other guards, the onus was on Strack, the 2025 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, to do the same with her fellow post players.

Rounding things out is Brooks' daughter, who may have the most important job.

"Gabby, obviously, knows me the best out of all," Brooks said of his youngest daughter's ability to read his moods. "It humanizes me, because my daughter is there, and they can see me as dad sometimes. It doesn't make me 'Coach' all the time."

With all aspects covered to build chemistry, all that was left was winning ballgames.

SN AWARDS: 2025 Women's All-America team

The giant is awake

Kentucky entered the season ranked No. 22 in the AP poll and four games in, outlasted rival Louisville in front of a capacity crowd at Lexington's Memorial Coliseum.

It was at that moment Brooks knew his team could do something special in the 2024-25 season, a journey that poetically continues with an NCAA tournament game on its home floor after a two-year absence from the tournament.

Kentucky reached the tournament 11 times in 13 years from 2009-2022, so it felt fair to ask after this season's revival: Has the sleeping giant been awakened?

"It's awake," Brooks said resoundingly. "We're seeing it in the community. We're seeing it in recruiting. And I think just with the recognition nationally that we're getting — I think everybody has a different mindset of Kentucky now. We're getting into homes that we would have never been able to get into before because of the name Kentucky."

That the success has come so quickly only makes it better in the long run, something Brooks unsurprisingly has a bright outlook for.

"The success that we've had early gives us a lot of credibility. … I think we positioned ourselves to continue this because I don't know how many people would have thought we would have finished top four in the SEC this year — especially when the league was stacked. It allows us to continue to thrive and I think the best is yet to come."

Have you ever found yourself watching a Kentucky basketball game or watching a press conference clip and thought to yourself, “Man, I wish I could get some of that swag?” Well, now you can.

Ahead of the NCAA Tournament, Nike and UK partnered up to bring Big Blue Nation custom-made and exclusive Mark Pope and Kenny Brooks sneakers. You can either purchase the “Nike Air Force 1 Low By Mark Pope” or the “Nike Dunk Low Unlocked By Kenny Brooks“.

Or get both — who are we to judge?

Pope’s shoes feature a gold-outlined white Nike swoosh with a signature blue and white design, while Brooks’ shoes have that classic blue Nike swoosh with a sleek white and gray design. The Air Force 1s will run at $130, while it will cost $160 to get a pair of the Dunks.

Here’s a more detailed look at both pairs of shoes:

Nike Air Force 1 Low By Mark Pope

Nike Dunk Low Unlocked By Kenny Brooks

New Kentucky Denim Shoes?

A few months ago, Devin Booker teased a denim colorway for his signature “Book 1” shoe. The former Cat has been supportive in the past, Mark Pope rocked a pair of custom Book 1s earlier this season, but he planned on taking it a step further with a shoe that will salute the 1996 National Champs. There is not a timetable for an official release, but a photo of the prototype hit the internet earlier this week. It looks like someone cut up some jeans to create them. No matter how they are modified, these kicks will be coveted by collectors.

Want more coverage of the Cats? Join KSR+

KSR has been delivering UK Sports news in the most ridiculous manner for almost two decades. Now, you can get even more coverage of the Cats with KSR+. In the middle of an exciting Kentucky basketball season, now is the perfect time to join our online community. Subscribe now for premium articles, in-depth scouting reports, inside intel, bonus recruiting coverage, and access to KSBoard, our message board featuring thousands of Kentucky fans around the globe. Come join the club.

This past weekend, Kentucky women’s guard, Cassidy Rowe, announced that she was retiring from basketball after three years with the program. This news came as a surprise to many due to Cassidy’s outspoken love and passion for the program, leading many to question what happened.

Shortly after the announcement, Rise Up Sports Media reported that Rowe was told that her scholarship would not be renewed for a senior season and was told, “You no longer have a spot on the team.”

On Monday, Cassidy’s father, Lonnie Rowe, spoke in detail about the situation on Alan Cutler’s show “No Filter.”

“Cassidy has been there three years,” Rowe said. “She has given blood, sweat, tears, and everything to the University of Kentucky and to that program. If he wanted to cut her last year, so be it. Now that she’s a senior and she’s ready to enter PT school, for this to take place, I think it’s classless.”

Rowe explained that his daughter did not have the opportunity to transfer as the application process for Physical Therapy school takes place in the fall semester. With the late notice of her scholarship status, she would not have been able to start until Fall 2026 elsewhere with the application process.

What she wanted was to finish her career at Kentucky, “she didn’t want to be anywhere else.”

“She was 100 percent devastated,” Rowe said of his daughter. “She said, ‘I didn’t want to go out like this. I don’t want bad memories of the University of Kentucky, but this makes it tough. I just wanted to have my Senior Night and go through the process of my four years.’”

Kenny Brooks prides his program on a family atmosphere, but Rowe said he believes that is ‘100 percent’ bologna. As for a message for Brooks, “I’ll be praying for you and that you change. That everything changes inside your heart because at this moment, I don’t think you have one,” Rowe said.

Please listen below.

Kentucky’s Cassidy Rowe grew up just over 100 miles away, southeast of Lexington. Recruited by former Head Coach Matthew Mitchell, Rowe, like any kid’s dream near Lexington, committed to Kentucky as a freshman in high school.

Battling countless injuries before her college career and coming to Lexington under another new head coach, this time Kyra Elzy, Rowe’s journey was far from easy. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end for Rowe, as she battled through two underwhelming seasons with the Wildcats, where they only won 12 games in both years.

Every single player from the 2023-24 team, besides Rowe and Saniah Tyler, either entered the portal or graduated.

However, when Rowe said, “I’m a Kentucky girl through and through,” she meant it.

When Kenny Brooks arrived on campus last spring, he said that Rowe cried “blue tears” when meeting with her. “When she started talking about her experiences here, I swore when she started crying, it was blue tears,” he told Phoenix Stevens. “I’m like, man, this kid had me — she had me at hello just because she knew how much she loved Kentucky.”

She decided to return to Kentucky for her junior season under Head Coach Kenny Brooks, and needless to say, Rowe was a part of a historic season. They ranked as high as No.8 in the AP women’s basketball poll, finished fourth in the SEC with a 23-8 record, and broke 11 school records.

Even though Rowe’s playing time decreased drastically this season, only eclipsing ten or more minutes one time once conference play started, she became a resembling fan favorite that many saw as “one of the ones to stick it out” and truly bleed Kentucky blue.

It shocked many when Rowe took to her Instagram to post news that she would be transferring on March 29th.

“Wow…I wasn’t expecting this to be a goodbye post,” Rowe said. “While I still have a year of eligibility left, I will not be entering the transfer portal. I will be pursuing my new dream of becoming a physical therapist through UK’s DPT program.”

Tonia Witt of Rise Up Sports Media broke the news of Rowe’s decision, which correlated with the Kentucky native’s Instagram post.

However, as passionate as Kentucky fans are, many took to social media to question the shocking news as Rowe’s love for the program was clear, and she had just one year remaining.

Witt ended the debate on the morning of March 30th, stating that Rowe was told her scholarship would not be available for the 2025-26 season, not that she was told to transfer.

Rowe’s father, Lonnie Rowe, would repost these to his personal social media, while also reposting a post from Alyx White stating that the fans stating Rowe didn’t deserve a roster spot clearly hadn’t seen Rowe play.

Cassidy Rowe is BBN through and through, and she will forever be loved by the fans. The way she was reportedly asked to leave isn't setting well with Kentucky fans right now.

By|

Some farewells are expected. A player exhausts eligibility, a coach takes another job, a senior walks off the court for the last time with tears in their eyes. But some goodbyes don’t feel right. Some feel forced, unnatural—like a song cutting out before the final note, or The Soprano's finale.

Cassidy Rowe’s goodbye wasn’t supposed to happen yet, and definitely not this way.

Rowe, the Kentucky kid who embodied everything it meant to wear blue and white, is ending her basketball career early. Not because she wanted to. Not because her body failed her. But because, if reports are true, she was asked to transfer.

And she refused.

Cassidy Rowe loved Kentucky too much to wear another jersey. And because of that, she will never play her senior season.

The Heart of a Wildcat

Cassidy Rowe wasn’t a star on the stat sheet. She didn’t fill highlight reels or lead scoring columns. But she was the heartbeat of Kentucky women’s basketball—a leader, a mentor, a Wildcat to the core.

She stayed long after games to sign autographs and take pictures with young girls dreaming of wearing Kentucky blue one day. She fought through two ACL tears to make it onto the court in the first place. She was the kind of player who made a program stronger, even if she wasn’t filling up the scoreboard.

She wasn’t just part of the team. She was part of BBN’s soul.

And now, she’s gone.

“I wanted nothing more than to play my senior year in a Kentucky uniform,” Rowe wrote in her farewell post. “But I know that God has bigger and better plans for me. Sometimes ‘no’ is God’s way of preventing us from greater heartbreak.”

She will not enter the transfer portal. Instead, she will pursue a Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Kentucky, trading in her jersey for a new dream.

But fans aren’t focused on her next chapter. They’re focused on why she had to write it now.

Kenny Brooks’ First Controversy

When Kenny Brooks was introduced as Kentucky’s head coach, he spoke about how much this program meant to him. How honored he was to lead it. He even singled out Cassidy Rowe, calling her the type of player who “bled blue tears.”

He said he was compelled to keep her on the roster after meeting with her.

And yet, somewhere along the way, he changed his mind.

Reports from various sources including Pheonix Stevens of KSR suggest Rowe was asked to leave. Maybe it was about roster space. Maybe it was about talent. Maybe it was just a tough business decision in a sport that doesn’t allow for many sentimental ones.

But this is Kentucky.

And some players aren’t just names on a roster. Some players mean more.

For a fanbase already mourning two tournament exits, this hit hard. On social media, frustration boiled over.

"Was a huge Kenny Brooks fan until this. Cassidy Rowe gave so much to that program even held it together at times…. Shows he doesn’t get it. Really poor decision on his part." one fan wrote.

"Always cheered extra hard for Cassidy Rowe because she’s from my neck of the woods, & I know her parents. Played softball at Pikeville College with her mama, Susan. If Kenny Brooks asked Cass to transfer her SENIOR year, I’m done with him!Messed with the wrong fans" another wrote.

One user even put together a collage of comments, none showing love to Kenny Brooks.

Winning games is one thing. Winning hearts is another.

Right now, Brooks has plenty of the first but may have lost the second.

A Father’s Words, A Daughter’s Grace

Earlier this year, we spoke to Cassidy’s father about her journey. About her faith, her fight, her love for Kentucky. To read that full interview click here.

“We talked and agreed that God always has a plan.”

That plan, it seems, no longer includes basketball.

And yet, Cassidy isn’t bitter, not in her words.

"Younger me would be crushed that our basketball career is over, but she also wouldn’t believe all of the things we’ve accomplished. I know she is proud."

Cassidy Rowe was special on the court. She is even more so off of it.

A Fanbase Waiting for Answers

College basketball is always changing. Players transfer. Coaches make decisions that don’t always make sense from the outside.

But losing Cassidy Rowe like this?

It feels wrong.

Kenny Brooks has a chance to make his mark at Kentucky. He has the chance to build a program that competes for championships. But he has to understand what this fanbase values.

And right now, BBN is struggling to understand him.

Maybe time will heal this wound. Maybe winning will make people forget.

But for now, Brooks has some explaining to do. BBN is demanding answers.

Because Cassidy Rowe didn’t leave Kentucky.

Kentucky left her.

Cassidy closed her comments with a verse, and this article will do the same. John 13:7 says Jesus replied,“You don’t understand now why I am doing it; some day you will.” (TLB)

Stick to WBN for all the transfer portal news as it breaks.

When Kenny Brooks left Virginia Tech last March for Kentucky, Wildcat Nation was excited for the future and why not? His history in Blacksburg gave the Wildcats' fans hope that he was going to come in and turn things around. That's what he did in Year 1 in Lexington.

It helped that Brooks had Georgia Amoore follow him from Virginia Tech, as well as Clara Strack. He also hit the transfer portal like every other coach does this time of the year, and they ended up hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament last weekend. They had their season end in overtime at the hands of Kansas State on Sunday afternoon.

This week, some players entered the portal for Kentucky, including Clara Silva, a freshman who originally committed to Virginia Tech in the summer of 2023 while Brooks was still there. On Saturday, Cassidy Rowe, who committed under former coach Matthew Mitchell and didn't want to play anywhere else, posted that she was not coming back for her final year of eligibility, and the reported reason why upset the Kentucky fanbase.

Kenny Brooks upsets Kentucky fanbase with decision on Cassidy Rowe's future

Rowe, a point guard, posted on her Instagram account that she would not be using her final season of eligibility and would pursue a career in physical therapy. Phoenix Stevens on On3 reported that Rowe was asked to transfer and that she bleeds blue and would never be anything other than a Wildcat. Therefore, her college career ends with a year left of eligibility. It didn't sit well with Kentucky fans, to say the least.

During his preseason media availability, Brooks said about Rowe, "Some of them were already in the portal. And Cassidy, when she started talking about her experiences here, I swore when she started crying, it was blue tears… And I’m asking her why. And you know, she stuttered and stammered a little bit. And that was enough for me.�

This would clear the Kentucky roster of nearly everyone who was a holdover from the previous coaching staff, but having it done this way is not something that Wildcats fans envisioned. It will be an interesting time in Lexington regarding roster-building for the 2025-26 season. Virginia Tech fans might not be surprised at how things went down.

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