Kentucky

Cassidy Rowe is 'Kentucky's favorite child', and Kenny Brooks is starting to see why

Published

1 year ago

November 20, 2024

Cassidy Rowe is 'Kentucky's favorite child', and Kenny Brooks is starting to see why

In Kentucky’s win over Purdue Fort Wayne, Cassidy Rowe played a huge part in giving the Cats the edge. For over 28 minutes, Kentucky played from behind, but Rowe made key shots and got momentum-swinging stops on defense to sway the game in Kentucky’s favor.

Kenny Brooks was quick to acknowledge the guard in his postgame press conference, pointing out just how proud he is of her.

“I’m really proud of Cassidy —not just for tonight,” Brooks said following the win over Purdue Fort Wayne. “Cassidy is Kentucky’s favorite child, and we got here, and we understand that, and her popularity is well-deserved. She’s a great kid.”

Brooks continued, “The way she’s handled everything, it has been tremendous because I think she played like, what, two minutes the other night [against Louisville], and she came back the next day, and we had practice, the starters didn’t play at all in practice, and she led her team. She is really trying to learn me. She’s really trying to learn me, and she’s trying to do it on the fly, and she’s doing it the right way.”

Part of what is contributing to Rowe’s overall growth is that she’s able to watch and learn from Georgia Amoore, one of the best guards in the country.

“She’s watching Georgia, she’s asking questions, and she’s catching on very quickly,” Brooks explained. She doesn’t hang her head whether she gets two minutes or 30 or 29 minutes — she’s got the same reaction. I think she likes what’s going on here. She’s enjoying playing basketball, and it’s just really fun. This is what you do it for. So, I coach college basketball because of opportunities. Like both of these young ladies right here, they just want to work hard. They just want to win, and you have one play 40 minutes, one and play two minutes, and they both came to practice with the same energy the next day.”

“Cassidy is waiting for her time, and Cassidy is building trust with me,” Brooks added. “She’s building a lot of trust with me. I could probably play her two minutes the next game, and she’s still going to come to practice and work her butt off to do what she can for the team, and that’s why we really relied on her tonight. So, both of them, I trust them, and their energy was fantastic.”

Rowe spoke to that — having her number called and being ready to contribute and bring the energy that the team needs to get over the hump.

“I know personally when you hear your number called, you have got to be ready,” Rowe said. “I felt like before the game, I was ready and locked in. Building off of your teammates too, if we are not all bringing the energy, then we are not in a good spot. So, just doing a better job encouraging the teammates to bring it, if somebody looks down, I say, ‘Lets bring it back up’.”

From last season to this season, Rowe is a completely different player. Now, as a junior, she’s one of the leaders of this team.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot, even the confidence side of things,” Rowe mentioned. “Last year was the first time I was getting playing time, I felt like I was still timid. I was playing not to make a mistake, rather than playing to help my team win. This year, the coaching staff has helped me build that confidence and play more physically. I feel like my teammates have helped a lot in that too. It’s just my teammates having trust in me, and I have trust in them. It built my confidence a lot.”

And as for her relationship with Georgia Amoore, it was interesting to see how that would unfold before the season. Rowe elected to not transfer out, even when she knew Amoore would come in and be the starting point guard, but why?

Well, for one, she’s a Wildcat through and through, but she’s also very appreciative of the opportunity to learn from one of the best guards there is.

“It means everything that I am still at Kentucky, it has always been a dream to play here,” Rowe noted. “Even when I heard that Georgia was coming in, that thought [of transferring] never crossed my mind. Georgia is one of the best point guards in the country, and the fact that I get to learn from her and pick her brain it’s truly been a blessing for me even building my own game.”

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Kentucky

Kentucky ‘playing with joy’ heading into volleyball championship match

Published

4 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Kentucky ‘playing with joy’ heading into volleyball championship match

KANSAS CITY, MO ― On Thursday, No.1 Kentucky punched its ticket to the NCAA volleyball championship match by winning a five-set thriller against No. 3 Wisconsin that defied logic.

“Congrats, guys. We couldn’t have played any worse,” head coach Craig Skinner told his team in the huddle after Kentucky dropped the first set, 25-12, with a .056 hitting percentage.

The Wildcats, who will play Texas A&M for the national championship on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC), did not lead in a single major statistical category against the Badgers, but it didn’t matter. Kentucky clawed back and evened the match 1-1. The two teams traded blocks, kills and long rallies until late in the fourth set when two Badgers’ errors left the door open for the Wildcats. Kentucky, seemingly powered by Wisconsin’s mistakes, stormed out to a 6-1 lead in the fifth set. But, the Badgers weren’t done.

Fueled by massive nights from Mimi Colyer and Carter Booth, Wisconsin kept coming and pushed Kentucky to the brink. It took a colossal push from outside hitter Eva Hudson (29 kills on .455 hitting, seven digs), freshmen Kassie O’Brien and Trinity Ward, libero Molly Tuozzo (17 digs) and Brooklyn DeLeye (15 kills, 14 digs) to fight off the Badgers. Hudson slammed the door on Wisconsin’s title hopes with two final kills, but it was DeLeye’s defense in the fifth set (six digs) that made the difference.

“The cool thing about this team, I thought we’d done it all, and I thought we found every possible way to win, and tonight was a different way,” Skinner said after the Wildcats beat Wisconsin. “The way they played, the heart that they show is immeasurable. I keep telling them they’re transformational leaders in the way they go about it, what they’ve done for the sport.

” Proud of them. But the job isn’t finished.”

The Wildcats said they knew from the first practice in January that they would be playing for a national championship. Hudson revealed this week she didn’t think any growing (from the beginning of the season until now) was needed. She said she knows Kentucky is ready. In her opinion, it’s just a matter of soaking in the environment.

Deleye echoed Hudson’s sentiment about taking it all in. Yet, the junior did admit an underlying thought; none of the players on the Wildcats’ roster have been to a Final Four. Only Skinner has been to the national championship stage and won. He was an assistant on the 2020 team that brought a trophy back to Lexington.

Deleye shared that all year long, the Wildcats have been talking about their “why.” She says there’s a lot of pressure that comes with volleyball, especially in the SEC tournament and NCAA tournament, where they earned wins over UCLA, Creighton and Wisconsin. Yet, Deleye and Hudson both agreed the Wildcats are just out there to have fun and “play with joy.”

“In the last few games, have drawn smiley faces on our hands or somewhere where we can see it to remind us to play with joy,” Hudson said. “Some of the best times in volleyball, and when we’re really playing well, is when we’re all playing with joy and bouncing off one another. Kind of have those reminders in those pressure situations, too, is a really good thing.”

Kentucky said in the midst of their joy and between sets, they look one another in the eyes. Everything is moving at such a fast pace that the Wildcats want to take the time to connect and say “I got you” to each other to promote unity. They needed that same reminder deep in the match against Wisconsin when the season and a possible championship were on the line.

In a sequence that seemingly went unnoticed, DeLeye and Tuozzo took a brief moment to look at each other and nearly simultaneously make a “mask on” gesture. However, Tuozzo later explained that it wasn’t a “mask” she and Deleye were proverbially putting on. It was a helmet.

“Helmet on, ready to dig,” Tuozzo said matter-of-factly.

Deleye added when there’s an open hole or the block is not there, someone will typically step up into the seam, and “whatever happens happens.” Kentucky will live with the results, knowing it put its “body on the line.” With two losses this season and an impressive 28-match winning streak that also includes an October victory over the Aggies, Kentucky has maintained its composure throughout the NCAA tournament.

The Wildcats have taken multiple moments during the Final Four to talk about how their “accountability partners” have helped them. Players on the roster have someone who can pick them up on days when they may struggle and remind them not to get caught up in what they aren’t doing. That collective support and belief in one another started at the beginning of the season and has translated into joy at the highest levels of volleyball, something that has even impressed Skinner, who is in his 21st year of coaching.

“Because they play with such joy, I want to coach more players like that. I want players that you don’t really have to coach body language and enthusiasm,” Skinner said. “If you do, you’re spending all your effort on the wrong things. We can spend our energy on how do we put the pieces togetherand form a system to go around that.”

“(It’s) trying to find those people that are driven internally, and have an enthusiasm, infectious enthusiasm for life. Those guys, being around them every day, I look forward to that.”

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Kentucky

No. 12/13 Kentucky Tops Wright State on Friday

Published

17 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

No. 12/13 Kentucky Tops Wright State on Friday

Clara Strack scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds as No. 12/13 Kentucky thumped Wright State 96-53 on Friday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Three other Cats also scored in double figures. Tonie Morgan had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Freshman Kaelyn Carroll made six threes on her way to a career-high 18 points. Asia Boone hit five threes en route to a 17-point night.

Wright State scored first on a three, but Kentucky got baskets from Strack and Morgan to lead 4-3. After WSU scored, Amelia Hassett drained a three and the Cats led 7-5. Wright State tied the game at 7-7 before Morgan and Strack scored to give UK an 11-7 lead. However, Wright State scored the next four to tie the game again.

Strack made two free throws, and Morgan made one, to give the Cats a three-point lead. A Boone three extended the lead to 17-11. Strack scored two more buckets and the Cats had a double-digit advantage. A Morgan three-point play capped the 13-0 run that gave UK a 24-11 lead. Kentucky would lead 31-13 after one quarter.

Wright State opened the second quarter with an 11-4 run to cut the Kentucky lead to 35-24. However, the Cats responded in a big way. Threes from Josie Gilvin and Boone gave UK a 17-point lead. A Morgan layup, two Strack free throws, and threes from Strack and Carroll (three times) compiled a 22-0 run that ended the half. Kentucky led 57-24 at the break and Strack led all scorers with 18 in the first 20 minutes.

In the third quarter, WSU scored first on a free throw but a Strack basket gave the Cats a 59-25 lead. After three Wright State points, UK got layups from Morgan and Jordan Obi to lead 63-28. After a Raiders’ three, Kentucky went on an 11-4 run, sparked by another three from Carroll, to lead 74-35. The Cats would lead 74-37 after three quarters.

Kentucky scored first in the final stanza on a Strack basket. After WSU scored twice, Carroll hit another three to make it 79-41. Kentucky would build the lead to as many as 46 (96-50) before settling for the 43-point victory.

The Cats now take a break for the holidays before hosting Hofstra on December 28. Tipoff for that game is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.

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Kentucky

Kentucky will have Flexible Recruiting Operation in New Territories

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Kentucky will have Flexible Recruiting Operation in New Territories

Will Stein‘s play-calling mantra is simple: Feed the Studs. It only works if you have studs. Kentucky must acquire talent to be competitive. It starts in the upcoming transfer portal, but there are long-term deficits that must be remedied by high school recruiting. Stein is building a staff that has cut its teeth on the trail.

One of the first things we learned about Joe Price, the new Kentucky wide receivers coach, is that he is known in the Lone Star State as East Side Joe. That is a reference to his hometown of Houston, a talent hotbed in the state of Texas. Safeties coach Josh Christian-Young just spent a couple of years at Houston after four years in New Orleans at Tulane.

New offensive line coach Cutter Leftwich first called Denton, Texas, home. He played college football in Louisiana at McNeese State, and spent time coaching at UTSA and North Texas. Kentucky’s two new coordinators each cultivated reputations as excellent recruiters and are coming to Lexington via the state of Texas and Louisiana.

Are you picking up the geographical theme yet?

Texas and Louisiana produce some of the most talented football players in America, not only in terms of quality, but quantity. In the 2025 On300 rankings, Texas led the way with 42 players, while Louisiana contributed a dozen, tied for the sixth-most. The issue is that Kentucky hasn’t gotten a lot of those players over the years. Might a tide finally be turning?

Sloan has Adaptable Recruiting Pitch

Within his first 24 hours on the job, Joe Sloan flipped four-star wide receiver Kenny Darby from LSU to Kentucky. Sloan’s connections in the state of Louisiana quickly paid dividends. He cultivated those connections for more than a decade in the Boot, but those weren’t always there for the former East Carolina quarterback from Virginia.

“I was 26 years old when Skip Holtz hired me at Louisiana Tech, and I had never been to Louisiana. He said, ‘Hey, what do you think about recruiting Baton Rouge?’ I said, ‘All right, that sounds good to me,’” Sloan recalled on Wednesday.

“He gave me, it was really nice a Crown Vic. The first one, it was a light baby blue. The second one was red, cherry red. It was nice; rolled down there and we started just developing relationships.”

You can expect Stein’s staff to lean on prior relationships to bring players to Kentucky. Jay Bateman has plenty of those in the DMV, the same region where the Wildcats recruited Josh Paschal. However, Kentucky can’t just rely on Texas, Louisiana, and the DMV to build a roster. Sloan believes this staff has the tools to adapt and find the best players from near and far to suit up in Kentucky blue.

“Recruiting it’s a people business. Coaches, mentors, and family members, they want to know that you have a plan for their son, on and off the field, to develop them to their fullest potential. What I look forward to is the opportunity to develop relationships right in all the areas that we’re going to recruit. I think that’s what it’s going to be,” said Sloan.

“That’s what it’s about, having open doors, answering the phone, creating relationships, and developing a trust with the people around the players that we’re going to recruit, that we’re going to take care of those young men. That’s what I’m going to do, that’s what I’ll continue to do, and that’s what we’ll do here at Kentucky as an entire program. So in terms of, I don’t know that it’s just one area, it’s more about the ability to develop those relationships and the excitement to do that, and I’m fired up.”