Kentucky’s top women’s basketball freshman leaving the SEC for the Big Ten

The first of Kentucky’s women’s basketball transfer portal entrants was the last to declare her destination.

Freshman Kennedy Cambridge announced via her Instagram on Wednesday that she will be transferring to Ohio State, where she will play for Coach Kevin McGuff.

“1+2=3,” Cambridge captioned her commitment photoset, along with a winking emoji.

The 5-foot-8 guard was UK’s most impactful freshman during the 2022-23 season, leading all Kentucky freshmen in minutes with 273. She played in 19 games and made one start, averaging 2.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 21-for-43 from the field, 3-of-12 from long-range and 7-of-20 from the free-throw line.

During Southeastern Conference play, Kyra Elzy repeatedly praised Cambridge for the fight she showed on both ends of the floor. In Feb. 13’s 74-52 loss at Ole Miss, when Cambridge matched her career-high of nine points, the UK head coach pointed to the freshman’s growth.

“Kennedy continues to progress and get better,” Elzy said. “She’s fearless, she’s a competitor and she wants to win. And you need that type of energy.”

Cambridge did, however, sit out several games due to both injury and undisclosed reasons. She did not play in the first six games of the season for reasons unknown. Cambridge last played for the Wildcats on Feb. 16 in the team’s 50-40 home loss to Georgia, her first career start. During that game, she recorded a season-high eight rebounds prior to fouling out in 31 minutes.

Three days later, when the Wildcats traveled to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt — where Cambridge’s older sister Jordyn is rostered but sat out this year due to a torn Achilles tendon — Cambridge did not play. When asked the reason why, Elzy said Cambridge was not injured and that it was “a coach’s decision.”

At Ohio State, Cambridge will join a program that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and the Elite Eight in 2023 before falling to No. 1 seed Virginia Tech.

Cambridge announced her entry to the portal two days after Tennessee ended the Wildcats’ season in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. She was the team’s first portal entrant, beating both starter Jada Walker, who has since signed with Baylor, and redshirt freshman Tionna Herron, who recently signed with Texas.

Cambridge’s and Walker’s departures, as well as the graduation of leading scorer Robyn Benton, left the Wildcats with several questions regarding the backcourt. The team will probably lean on last-season starter Maddie Scherr and rising sophomore Amiya Jenkins to lead the charge.

Kentucky also recently picked up a transfer commitment from 2021 Miss Kentucky Basketball Brooklynn Miles, who spent her first two seasons at Tennessee.

UK has currently accounted for 12 of 15 available scholarships, and has two incoming freshmen in four-star, 6-foot-2 wing Jordy Griggs of Montverde (Fla.) Academy and 6-4 post Janaé Walker of Sandy Creek (Ga.).

Projected 2023-24 UK roster

After Monday’s commitment from transfer Brooklynn Miles, here is how Kentucky’s roster for next season stands at the moment (UK has three additional scholarships available):

Backcourt: Jordy Griggs (Fr.), Amiya Jenkins (So.), Emma King (Sr.), Brooklynn Miles (Jr.), Cassidy Rowe (So.), Eniya Russell (Sr.), Maddie Scherr (Sr.), Saniah Tyler (So.)

Frontcourt: Nyah Leveretter (Sr.), Ajae Petty (Sr.), Zennia Thomas (So.), Janae Walker (Fr.)

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