Kentucky women’s basketball lands commitment from an undefeated state champion

Cameron Drummond
·2 min read
Saniah Tyler, a guard from the St. Louis area, is expected to thrive in Kentucky Coach Kyra Elzy’s vision for the Wildcats’ future.
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The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team now has three commits in the class of 2022.

On Thursday afternoon, point guard Saniah Tyler of Incarnate Word Academy in Bel-Nor, Missouri, announced her commitment to the Wildcats on social media.

Tyler announced in September 2020 that she received a scholarship offer from Kentucky, an offer that came when Matthew Mitchell was still the head coach of the Wildcats.

But Kyra Elzy — who was named the interim head coach in November after Mitchell’s resignation before being officially named the full-time head coach in December — stuck with Tyler in the recruiting process, leading to Thursday’s announcement.

Tyler also holds offers from a number of other high-level Power Five programs, including Indiana, Georgia, and Tennessee. According to WBB Blog, earlier in July Tyler trimmed the list of schools she was considering to just three: Arizona State, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Last season, Tyler won a state championship with Incarnate Word, a private, Catholic high school located in a northern suburb of St. Louis. Incarnate Word finished last season with a 29-0 record and capped the undefeated campaign by winning its 11th state title in Missouri.

Tyler was named to the all-state team for Class 6 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association following the state tournament.

She was also an all-state selection as a sophomore in 2020 in Class 4 with Incarnate Word.

Tyler, listed online by Prep Girls Hoops at 5-foot-7, was in Kentucky this month with her AAU team — Lady Brad Beal Elite — playing at an event in Louisville.

According to Prep Girls Hoops, Tyler impressed at the event “with her leadership, facilitating and bucket getting,” in addition to showing an ability to score at all three levels. Prep Girls Hoops ranks Tyler the 43rd-best player overall in the class of 2022.

According to ESPN, Tyler is rated as a four-star recruit and as the 24th-best point guard in the class of 2022.

Tyler is the third class of 2022 player to commit to Kentucky, joining another point guard, Cassidy Rowe of Shelby Valley High School in Pikeville, and forward Tionna Herron of DeSoto High School in DeSoto, Texas.

Tyler is the second player to commit to Kentucky with Elzy as head coach, as Herron’s commitment occurred late last December.