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The transfer portal and the current landscape of college sports are practically the Wild West. The worse part? The way it is today could be completely different tomorrow with the ongoing House v. NCAA settlement hearing. It’s tough landscape for Kenny Brooks to navigate.

Brooks recently did an interview with SiriusXM, and among the many topics he hit on was the transfer portal.

“It’s hard. It’s really hard,” Brooks said of the transfer portal’s impact on women’s college basketball. “Not only is it hard for the players — there’s a misconception about the portal. It’s just like, ‘Okay, I jump in there and magically I get the perfect situation’. It can go a lot of different ways. It’s hard for coaches because you’re managing rosters like you’ve never done before. But it’s also hard for the fans, especially in women’s basketball, where they grew up watching kids come in as freshmen, go to sophomores and in their senior season, you feel like you know them.”

However, the portal has made it to where players spending four years at a school isn’t commonplace like it used to be. Now, there’s a lot of movement. Sometimes that movement is player-driven. Sometimes, it’s more coach-driven. It isn’t always totally mutual.

“So, it’s relationship-based now, “Brooks added, “It’s 2025 and it’s changing. We’ve given everyone the opportunity — freedom of movement, which, kids can come in and say, ‘Hey, I want to go somewhere else’. Coaches can say the same thing, and it’s really hard.”

“We’re at a very vulnerable stage in women’s basketball, just because we’re trying to figure it all out,” Brooks said. You have NIL, which is turning into revenue sharing. Now, you go into the roster management with the portal. So, it’s just an unease. Unsettling time right now, a little bit, but exciting at the same time. There is proof that it can be done.”

As far as finding that proof, just look at what Kentucky did this past season. 11 of the 13 players on the roster weren’t in Lexington the year before. Yet, the Cats went 23-8 and finished fourth in the SEC.

“You look at what we did last year, and a lot of people will look to that as a sign of progress — a sign that you can do it. We went into Kentucky last year with 11 new players, and they all had to learn each other, and we were very fortunate. We went into the portal not trying to get the best players, we wanted to get the right players.”

“They came together in a way that I could not have imagined,” Brooks noted. “The year was so successful, so fun watching them develop. We’re almost like the poster child for that. Some people say you can turn it around very quickly — it’s not that easy. We were very fortunate. We got the right kids, but it’s just the evolution of the game and where it is with the portal and the [revenue] share and NIL.”

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In our In the Spotlight stories, Herald-Leader journalists bring you continuing coverage of news and events important to our Central Kentucky community. Read more. Story idea? hlcityregion@herald-leader.com.

How does one go about replacing All-America point guard Georgia Amoore?

It’s a question probably on the minds of many members of Big Blue Nation, who had the opportunity to watch Amoore help architect a Kentucky women’s basketball resurgence in just one season, the program’s first under Sporting News Coach of the Year Kenny Brooks.

The short answer, of course, is that one can’t. But that doesn’t change the fact that Brooks and his staff have been preparing for life without Amoore, who is projected to be a first-round pick in the WNBA draft come this April 14.

At the time of the writing of this article, UK had zero point guards on the roster for the 2025-26 season.

The Wildcats are set to welcome a highly touted point guard in the form of Maddyn Greenway, a four-time state champion with Providence (Minnesota) Academy and the daughter of former Minnesota Viking and Iowa Hawkeye Chad Greenway and former Iowa track athlete Jenni Capista Greenway. The problem? Greenway, rated the No. 18 prospect in her class, won’t graduate from high school until 2026.

Brooks spoke to the challenge of replacing Amoore on Tuesday during a SiriusXM appearance on “SEC This Morning.”

“First and foremost, I don’t know if you can replace her,” Brooks said. “You’re always going to need a point guard, and you may have to do it by committee. And we’ve been very careful that, as we recruit her replacement, that we’re not trying to make them be Georgia Amoore.”

UK experienced a record-breaking season with a roster featuring 11 faces brand-new to Lexington, including its top-six scorers. Outside of those who chose to follow him, in one shape or another, from his time at Virginia Tech — Amoore, Clara Strack, Gabby Brooks, Lexi Blue, Amelia Hassett and Clara Silva, the latter of whom is now in the transfer portal — Brooks was able to secure four additional commitments, each from the transfer portal. Teonni Key and Dazia Lawrence, both starters, served as necessary pieces to the Kentucky rebuild.

The other two, Jordan Obi and Dominika Paurová, were expected to be part of Brooks’ regular rotation but sustained offseason lower-leg injuries that rendered them unavailable in 2024-25. They both plan to return next season. Brooks, who regularly speaks to his vision of finding the “right fit” as opposed to aiming to sign the athletes with the best statistics, said he hopes “that continues for next year.”

“We assembled a group that was the right group,” Brooks said. “You know, you can go into the portal right now, and there are some kids in there that might average 22 points a game, and there’s a kid in there that might average 10 and that kid’s gonna be much better for you, your philosophy, and I think you just have to be careful, and we’ve done a really good job of that.”

Of course, on-court success and a return to the national stage only helps with recruiting. Brooks said that the “foundational year,” during which the Wildcats made it further in the postseason than they had since 2021 and posted their highest number of wins (23-8) since the 2018-19 campaign, “adds a lot of credibility to your program.”

This season, which he has called one of his favorite as a coach, reminded Brooks just how different the landscape of college athletics has become from what it once was. However, he said, the ever-changing nature of the game taught Brooks a long time ago “you either evolve or you become a dinosaur, and we all know what happened to dinosaurs.”

“With the portal, with the revenue share, with NIL,” Brooks said. “And then at the same time, you know, you have to be careful. You don’t want all of your actions to be transactional. You want relationships, and we continue to try to build on that, even as the sport is changing, but you need to evolve. And this year, it makes it even more special that we were able to be so successful in the first year. Not just because of the chemistry, but just really getting used to the landscape of college athletics, and it seems like it’s ever-changing.”

Kentucky is currently slated to have eight players on scholarship for the 2025-26 season: Blue, Brooks, Hassett, Key, Obi, Paurová, Strack and incoming five-star wing Kaelyn Carroll, the No. 15 national prospect in the high school class of 2025 and a 2025 McDonald’s All-American.

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This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 12:23 PM.

Georgia Amoore and the Kentucky Wildcats lost in the second round of the March Madness Tournament. The team's loss also marked the last time that star guard Georgia Amoore played for the Wildcats. Amoore has played five seasons of college basketball and has no more years of eligibility remaining. As a result, she will enter the WNBA draft.

As a result, head coach Kenny Brooks and the Kentucky Wildcats will need to address losing their leading scorer in the transfer portal. These are five players who could be candidates to replace Amoore.

Top 5 transfer portal targets for Kentucky to replace Georgia Amoore

Florida State guard Ta'Niya Latson would be an excellent replacement for Amoore if the Wildcats can land her. She is arguably the best player in the transfer portal after averaging 25.2 points per game this past season.

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Although she only has one season of eligibility left, that has not been an issue for Kentucky historically as it was the same situation with Amoore last season.

There were rumors that Olivia Miles would enter the WNBA draft this season. That no longer seems to be the case as she entered the transfer portal. If she chooses to go to Kentucky, she could run the offense. Not only is she an effective scorer, but she excels as a facilitator and would immediately boost the Wildcats' offense as a whole.

Utah guard Gianna Kneepkens is in the transfer portal with one season of eligibility remaining. She is one of the highest-volume 3-point shooters in the nation, averaging 6.8 attempts per game. Bringing that kind of dynamic ability to Kentucky would give the offense a different look and could help the Wildcats get back to their form from the early 2010s.

Dani Carnegie was the ACC's Sixth Player of the Year this past season and could be a good addition to the Wildcats roster. While she came off the bench at Georgia Tech, she could be a starter with the Wildcats. She proved that she is an effective scorer who has a low-turnover rate, and a skilled rebounder despite only being 5-foot-9.

Georgia Tech guard Kara Dunn entered the transfer portal after head coach Nell Fortner announced her retirement. Dunn has taken significant jumps in each of her first three seasons and averaged 15.5 points per game as a junior. She very rarely makes mistakes and would fit into the Wildcats roster

On Tuesday night, Big Blue Nation will have the opportunity to catch a glimpse at Kentucky women’s basketball’s first McDonald’s All-American since 2020.

Kaelyn Carroll, Kenny Brooks’ sole incoming freshman, will duke it out against and alongside some of the best and brightest names in the class of 2025 in this year’s iteration of the McDonald’s All-American Game. This year’s boys and girls games, taking place in the week leading up to Final Four weekend, will be hosted in Brooklyn, New York, at the Barclays Center.

Carroll, UK’s first McDonald’s All-American signee out of high school since Treasure Hunt, is a 6-foot-3 wing out of Tabor Academy (Massachusetts), and committed to Brooks and the Wildcats in late November from a list of finalists that also reportedly included South Carolina and North Carolina. Carroll, the No. 15 overall prospect in the class and the top-ranked recruit in her state, said the selection wasn’t necessarily expected.

“I was a little in shock,” Carroll said. “But also super happy to see that a lot of my hard work was paid off. You know, we grow up watching these players play. I definitely did, looked up to a lot of them, and it’s super cool to be a part of it.”

The Dedham, Massachusetts, native eclipsed 1,000 career points this season, despite sustaining several injuries over the course of her career, including a torn meniscus which required surgery, a severe ankle sprain, a torn quad and a concussion. She averaged double-figure scoring as a senior.

Carroll has dreamt of playing in the Southeastern Conference, and now is just a few months away from joining Brooks and the Wildcats on campus. Though UK’s first season under Brooks ended before the program had hoped, with a narrow overtime loss to Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament round of 32, Carroll said the next level of Kentucky women’s basketball “is only just starting,” and that she’s excited to continue what momentum was built in year one under Brooks.

Following Tuesday’s McDonald’s All-American Game, where Carroll will suit up alongside in-state prospects ZaKiyah Johnson (LSU) and Leah Macy (Notre Dame), plus future SEC foes in Tennessee signees Jaida Civil, Mia Pauldo, Deniya Prawl and South Carolina pledges Agot Makeer and Ayla McDowell, among others, Carroll will finish her academic career at Tabor before turning to the next phase of her basketball career.

While Carroll won’t be the only new face on Kentucky’s 2025-26 team — as Brooks and his staff are expected to use the transfer portal to fill out the roster in light of six departures — she is expected to fit nicely into Brooks’ system.

“And just speaking with Coach Brooks about my role,” Carroll said. “I’m the only freshman coming in for Kentucky, so we’ve had a lot of conversations about my versatile play and how that will continue through college, as well, because we’ve got a lot of big posts on the team. So I’ll probably be more on the outside wing.”

Carroll’s commitment, the result of years of recruiting and relationship building by Brooks and his staff, marks another instance of the continued turning tide that is Kentucky women’s basketball as Brooks works to elevate (and sustain) the program’s notoriety, popularity and success. When asked about growing the presence and popularity of Kentucky women’s basketball among a community that has always celebrated “the boys’ side,” Carroll complimented Brooks’ immediate success.

“With Coach Kenny and his new coaching staff,” Carroll said. “You can see this year how well he’s doing. They made it pretty — not too — far this year, but they accomplished a lot. And Georgia Amoore coming out of Kentucky, hopefully getting to the league, is super huge for the girls’ side. And I’m excited to continue those accomplishments.”

Players are listed with their college destinations.

EAST

▪ Nyla Brooks, North Carolina

▪ Kaelyn Carroll, Kentucky

▪ Jaida Civil, Tennessee

▪ Aaliyah Crump, Texas

▪ Jaliya Davis, Kansas

▪ ZaKiyah Johnson, LSU

▪ Leah Macy, Notre Dame

▪ Agot Makeer, South Carolina

▪ Mia Pauldo, Tennessee

▪ Deniya Prawl, Tennessee

▪ Lara Somfai, Stanford

▪ Hailee Swain, Stanford

WEST

▪ Dee Alexander, Cincinnati

▪ Sienna Betts, UCLA

▪ Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma

▪ Jasmine Davidson, Southern California

▪ Addison Deal, Iowa

▪ Alexandra Eschmeyer, Stanford

▪ Grace Knox, LSU

▪ Ayla McDowell, South Carolina

▪ Brynn McGaughy, Washington

▪ Aliyahna Morris, California

▪ Emilee Skinner, Duke

▪ Jordan Speiser, Kansas State

McDonald’s All-American Games

6:30 p.m.: Girls game (ESPN2)

9 p.m.: Boys game (ESPN)

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Georgia Amoore had a five-year collegiate career in which she spent all of them coached by Kenny Brooks, the past one being at Kentucky. Although her collegiate career came to an end on Sunday, her connection to Brooks and the University of Kentucky are not.

In the postgame press conference following the Kansas State game, Amoore hit on what she loved about her time in Lexington as she sat alongside fellow fifth-year senior Dazia Lawrence.

“I think in the locker room, we were kind of saying that it’s been such a blessing for both of us to bring Kentucky back,” the two-time AP All-American said. “Obviously, Kentucky is a name brand on the men’s side — I told the girls, it’s up to you whatever you decide, but hang around because it’s only going to go up from here. It’s an attractive style of play. Coach Brooks proves that he’s a winner.”

She added, “So, I think it’s cool to be the foundation and just project the program forward. That’s been the greatest thing, is seeing the crowds come back game after game. Even Memorial, like I didn’t see the old one, but I heard of it, so it’s been cool to play in the new one and to kind of just get things rolling back again.”

Not only did Amoore help lay that foundation for the future, but she’s going to be a part of it. Even though we won’t get to see No. 3 on the court anymore, it sounds like she’ll return to Lexington to wreak some havoc in the Joe Craft Center.

“The coolest thing — and he said it in the locker room, and I already had thoughts about it. It’s not the end,” Amoore noted. “Like, that’s the coolest thing.”

“I think nothing really needs to be said, she continued. “You can look at every single year, you can look at my decision to come here, like this year, we probably drained ourselves in some capacity to be successful. I think every single day, we treated it as extra. We weren’t supposed to have this, so make the most out of it. I think it’s going to be weird not being coached by him, but it’s not like I can’t just FaceTime him. I’m sure I’m going to be blowing up his phone again and probably asking for the next couple of sweatshirts that they get next year.”

“I told the girls I’ll be coming back for practice and putting on a red jersey and being annoying. But it’s not over. It’s not over. That’s why I’m not overly upset about it because it’s not. It’s not like we’re parting ways and I’m moving back to Australia and using a landline phone. We’re still going to be very much connected.”

Amoore will forever be remembered in Lexington for what she accomplished at Kentucky, and it’s nice to know that the soon-to-be WNBA star will be back in town soon enough.

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