When Louisville (Ky.) Sacred Heart 5-star guard and top-10 2025 prospect ZaKiyah Johnson released her top 12 back in November, Kentucky wasn’t on it.
On Wednesday, Johnson released a top six consisting of UK, Louisville, LSU, Notre Dame, South Carolina and USC.
What has changed in Lexington is the hiring of Virginia Tech’s Kenny Johnson, who was tabbed to replace Kyra Elzy as the Wildcats’ head coach back in March.
“This one is definitely new. I already had a great relationship with Coach Brooks, but I didn’t really like the Virginia area,” Johnson told On3 Sport’s Talia Goodman. “Now that he’s here and we’re building that connection, it’s going to be better because it’s closer and it’s something I’m familiar with. Also, Coach Josh [Petersen] from Miami— he was recruiting me at Miami and we talked a lot. He was kind of like one of my best friends. I’m very close with the staff and I think seeing the new program is really going to tell me what I need to know.”
The 6-foot guard, who is ranked No. 7 overall in the 2025 class by ESPN, averaged 8.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup in Colombia this summer as the United States went a perfect 6-0 to capture the gold medal.
Johnson has also led Sacred Heart to three of its four straight KHSAA girls state championships. The Valkyries are the first school–boys or girls–to win four consecutive state titles and own a 73-game win streak vs. in-state competition.
In a 60-49 win over McCracken County, Johnson finished with 21 points, six rebounds and four assists on her way to being named Sweet 16 Most Valuable Player for the third straight year.
After losing 10 players from last season’s roster to graduation and the transfer portal, Brooks has added a total of nine newcomers.
That kind of offseason activity has led ESPN’s Charlie Creme to include the Wildcats at in his Women’s NCAA Basketball’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2024-25 at No. 25.
Following Brooks from his previous stop at Virginia Tech are Hokies All-American point guard Georgia Amoore and sophomore forward Clara Strack; as well as Virginia Tech signees Amelia Hassett (Eastern Florida State College), 4-star Florida wing Lexi Blue, and 6-7 Portugeuse forward Clara Silva. Brooks also signed transfers Teonni Key (North Carolina), Jordan Obi (Penn), and Dazia Lawrence (Charlotte) while retaining previous UK commit and Canadian guard Tanah Becker.
Kentucky returns junior guards Saniah Tyler (10.2 points, 34.5 3PFG%) and Cassidy Rowe (2.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists) from last season’s squad that finished 12-20 overall and led to the dismissal of head coach Kyra Elzy, who went just 61-60 overall over four seasons.
The 55-year-old Brooks Brooks, who led Virginia Tech to the Final Four in 2023 and an ACC regular season championship in 2024, has been tasked to lead the Wildcats into the newly-renovated Memorial Coliseum for the 2024-25 season.