Kentucky WBB leading scorer and rebounder, Ajae Petty, reportedly enters transfer portal

Just one day after Kyra Elzy was relieved of her duties as head coach, Kentucky women’s basketball saw its best player put her name in the portal.

On Tuesday afternoon, On3’s Pete Nakos reported that senior forward Ajae Petty has entered the transfer portal. Petty led Kentucky in both scoring (14.2 PPG) and rebounds (10.6 RPG) while shooting a team-high 50.7 percent from the field during the 2023-24 season for the Wildcats.

The 6-foot-3 native of Maryland will have one year of eligibility left as a grad transfer.

Kentucky women's basketball forward Ajae Petty has entered the transfer portal, @On3sports has learned.

The grad transfer averaged 14.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game this season. Former LSU transfer. https://t.co/w5eeF1YMNM pic.twitter.com/cDm8D3iBug

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) March 12, 2024

After spending her first two college seasons at LSU, Petty transferred to Kentucky ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. As a junior, she averaged 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game before taking a massive leap in production this past season as a senior. Petty started all 32 games for UK in 2023-24, registering 18 double-doubles along the way.

Petty, who still has the option to return to UK, is the first Wildcat to put her name in the portal following the conclusion of Kentucky’s season over the weekend, which resulted in a losing record for the second straight year. More players could certainly follow Petty into the portal with the departure of Elzy, who finished with a 61-60 overall record and a 23-40 mark in the SEC.

Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart is expected to undergo a “national search” for the Wildcats’ next head coach.