Kentucky WBB Recruiting Update: UK a finalist for several prospects, Sydney Savoury and Chloe Johnson discuss their recruitments, and MORE
Recruiting has really ramped up for Kenny Brooks and Kentucky in the last week. The ‘Cats are a finalist for several highly-ranked prospects, including Danville Christian star forward Grace Mbugua. Mbugua and Billy Inmon, her coach at DCA, discussed her recruitment with KSR.
Additonally, Kentucky extended offers to a number offers in future classes. 2027 three-star guard Sydney Savoury and 2028 guard Chloe Johnson both discussed their Kentucky offers and their recruitments in general.
Let’s dive in.
‘Cats make the Top 6 for Agot Makeer
The highest-rated prospect we’ll talk about today will be Agot Makeer, the No. 6 prospect and top small forward in the 2025 class in On3’s WBB Recruiting Rankings. On Monday, Makeer revealed her Top 6.
The list of finalists include South Carolina, UConn, Duke, Michigan State, UNC and Kentucky.
She talked about her Top 6 with On3’s Talia Goodman, and here is what she had to say about the ‘Cats.
“I have a good relationship with the coaching staff. Coach Josh [Petersen] was recruiting me at Miami and then when he switched to Kentucky, he continued to call me a lot. I feel like they’re very intriguing to me. I’ve always liked Coach [Kenny] Brooks. They also had Rhyne Howard, and they’ll continue to produce pros like Georgia Amoore. That’s very attractive to me.”
It’s worthy to note that Petersen is actually a big piece in this recruitment — which is more commonplace than you’d probably think. Brooks assembled this staff really with two main goals in mind. One, to maintain continuity by bringing over most of his Virginia Tech staff, but two, to bring in people that can recruit. Clearly, Petersen can do that.
It’s also worth noting that UConn was Makeer’s dream school growing up. During those impressionable pre-teen years is when UConn was on top of the college basketball mountain. That run in the early 2010s was beyond legendary. Plus, Makeer clearly wants to play at the next level, and UConn has been a pro factory for decades now.
Additionally, Makeer also noted that Michigan State is the school that has the best relationship with her. The Spartans are also close to home for Makeer, so they are certainly a team to keep an eye on.
On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) actually has Kentucky at 12.1% — the highest among all the other schools in this recruitment. Michigan State is just behind at 10.6%.
Deniya Prawl includes Kentucky in her Top 8
Makeer isn’t the only top 2025 prospect to have Kentucky in her list of finalists. Deniya Prawl, the No. 12 player in On3’s rankings, cut her list to eight recently.
Among the eight are Louisville, Notre Dame, Baylor, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, UConn and Kentucky.
Prawl’s recruitment in general has been quiet for the most part, but there’s no reason that Kentucky can’t be in the thick of things when it comes commitment time.
UK among the Top 8 for Grace Mbugua, intel on her recruitment
It turns out that ZaKiyah Johnson isn’t the only 2025 in-state prospect that Kentucky could make a push for. If you can remember back to this year’s KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16, you may recall one player in particular who was dominating everyone around her. Though her team didn’t capture the state championship, it felt like that team may have had the best performer in that whole tournament.
Well, that was Danville Christian Academy star forward Grace Mbugua, who has led the state in rebounding in back-to-back-to-back seasons.
After decommitting from Liberty on March 27th, Mbugua eventually compiled a list of eight finalists for her talents. Spoiler alert: they’re all just a bit above Liberty’s level.
Duke, NC State, Baylor, Louisville, West Virginia, LSU, Florida and Kentucky are Mbugua’s eight finalists.
Her coach at Danville Christian, Billy Inmon, talked with KSR about Mbugua as a player and why Kentucky is a school that could land her. A lot of people would tell you that Mbugua is underrated and that’s why she was committed to Liberty all this time, but she made that commitment in middle school, so she wasn’t really considering other schools for much of her high school career.
“She had committed to Liberty as an eighth grader, and so she really was kind of off the radar [of bigger programs] because she was off the market,” Inmon said. “After the Sweet 16 was over, we sent out feelers to different colleges and it hit pretty fast. So, once they got to see her and see her skill set and everything, it moved pretty quickly.”
Inmon also noted that Mbugua and her parents had been talking about potentially decommitting from Liberty before the conclusion of the Sweet 16 as well.
Also, Inmon talked about why Kentucky specifically could be a potential suitor for her talents.
“I think, obviously, proximity is great,” Inmon explained. “She’s made a lot of friends and [she’s] got a second family out of it by coming here. Other than that, I think it was the fact that Coach Brooks really made sure that she knew that he really believed in her and believed in the impact that she can make there at Kentucky.”
Inmon added, “The staff has been very kind, but I think the biggest thing is just making her feel like they really believed in her and that they really wanted her. I think they casted a vision for her on what kind of impact she could make on the overall program at Kentucky.”
Plus, if Mbugua were to ultimately decide to be a ‘Cat, Inmon thinks that she could be really, really good.
“I think she could be a star at UK. I think she could stand out a lot. I think she just has a very unique skill set, and with the height that they already have, I think that she could play more her natural position, which is really like a three. She’s a really consistent shooter and she’s super quick, and so I think she can just cause matchup problems.”
He even went as far as calling her a “female [Kevin] Durant”, talking about how she quickly she can get around and how good of a shooter she is.
Mbugua has visited a number of schools, but the only one that she has posted about on social media was her unofficial visit to Kentucky. Inmon was actually alongside Mbugua for the trip.
“I think it went great,” Inmon noted. “She’s been to some other unofficial visits, and they’ve been great too. I don’t necessarily think she can make a bad choice with the final eight that she’s got. I think the coaching staff was really great to her. And like I said, I think that’s when she really realized it, that [the staff] really values what she can bring to the table.”
Out of respect for other schools involved in the recruitment, Mbugua and her camp have decided to keep the visits she’s taken more on the down low. So, maybe consider it a good sign that her visit to Kentucky is the only one that she has posted about on her Instagram page.
Earlier this summer, Mbugua tore her ACL and partially tore her meniscus, and Inmon expects that the star forward may be ready for game action as soon as January. “Her recovery has been unbelievable,” Inmon told KSR.
It’ll be interesting to see where the home-state ‘Cats fare in this battle.
Sydney Savoury and Chloe Johnson talk about Kentucky offers
Sydney Savoury, a class of 2027 three-star guard, and Chloe Johnson, a class of 2028 guard, talked with KSR about their respective recruitments.
Savoury was offered by Kentucky on July 31st. As we discussed in last week’s recruiting update, Ole Miss, UCLA, Louisville and Minnesota are some of the other schools to offer Savoury. Additionally, she has taken visits to UCLA, Duke and Michigan.
Evidently, Savoury liked Brooks and Kentucky a lot from her conversation with the staff because she mentioned to KSR that she is “hoping to get down there and go on a visit this fall!”
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Additionally, when you look at the list of programs that have offered Savoury, the ‘Cats may be in a good spot because they provide two of the more important factors in what Savoury wants in a program.
“Relationships are a big thing to me,” she said. “They are really important, but also winning and going to a program with a lot of potential [is important to me].”
And speaking of building relationships, Brooks was even in to watch Savoury play recently, and since then, they’ve had multiple conversations.
“He saw me play this past weekend, so we talked a lot about my game and how he likes how I play and that I would fit the team’s style of play. But really just getting to know each other on the phone as well. Coach Brooks and the staff came from winning and from what I’ve heard and the conversations I’ve had, they are all great people!”
Along with Savoury, Chloe Johnson also had positive reviews of the coaching staff.
“I talked with Josh [Petersen] a couple of times before I spoke with Kenny on Saturday [August 3rd]. Josh did a good job of just trying to get to know me. They obviously want to recruit kids who fit what they want on and off the court. When I talked to Coach Brooks, we had a really good conversation. He’s easy to talk to because we think a lot alike and care about the same things.”
Johnson especially fits what Brooks and Kentucky wants to do because she has a very similar style of play to Georgia Amoore.
“He talked a lot of basketball and went over what he saw from me this spring and summer,” Johnson added. “He watched me a lot, so we had a lot to talk about. He has a really elite point guard right now, and I play a lot like her, so it was easy to talk about basketball with him.”
Brooks’ track record at Virginia Tech is a huge plus to not only Johnson, but many, many recruits. Brooks seems like and is a very personable guy, and when you win at the rate he did and produce the amount of pros that he did in Blacksburg, that only adds fuel to the fire.
“When I have watched Coach Brooks coach in the past at his other school, I liked how you can tell he loves his players like a father, but he also holds them to a really high standard on the court,” Johnson explained. “He is a brain coach and spends a lot of one-on-one time with his players who want to get better. He expects a lot. That’s how I train now and it works for me.”
She continued, “I know when I pick a school, I want coaches who do a ton of film with me, put me through really hard workouts and know my end goal is to play in the WNBA.”
In general, Johnson wants to go to a program where she can be her best. Being close to home doesn’t necessarily matter a ton to Johnson. She just want to thrive in a system where she can elevate her game.
“Overall in a program, I’m looking for a coaching staff who pushes me to be my best, doesn’t cut corners and expects me to keep getting better. I also want a coaching staff who is really good with X’s and O’s in a system that I can excel in.”
“I don’t really care if I stay close to home. I would stay home if that’s where I feel I would fit best, but right now, I’m just trying to get to know coaches and ask a lot of questions,” she also said.
Because of AAU and high school ball, it’s hard for Johnson to find the time to get visits scheduled. However, she did note that she wants to visit Kentucky when she gets the chance.
“I think I’ll visit Kentucky soon. I do want to go there in person. I’m really into relationships more than anything, so the time I spend with different coaches is important to me. I have a couple of other visits scheduled too, but since I’m only going into ninth grade, I have some time.”
Considering that the ‘Cats are in early on the recruitments of both Savoury and Johnson, you have to like their chances so far with both of them.
Additional top 2026, 2027 and 2028 guards offered
Along with all of that, there were three more offers made to high school recruits, all of which are in different classes.
Kamora Pruitt, a four-star forward in the 2026 class, was the first of these three offers to be made known online. She has been offered by Florida State, UCLA, Louisville, Oregon and Oklahoma, among many others. Additionally, she has visited Georgia Tech, North Carolina and NC State as well.
Jordyn Palmer, the No. 4 prospect in the 2027 class, received an offer from Kentucky as well.
Palmer has been offered by the best of the best, including South Carolina, UConn, LSU and Texas. This one especially should be a fun recruitment to keep an eye on considering how talented and highly-rated she is.
Lastly, Jhaliana Guy, a class of 2028 guard, was offered by Kentucky as well. She holds offers from schools like Louisville, Mississippi State, Ohio State and Alabama, among others. Brooks and the staff are clearly thinking about the program in the long-term as well.
Rundown of prospects offered by Kentucky
2025
- 5-star wing Agot Makeer – No. 6 overall, No. 1 wing – Crestwood Prep (Canada)
- 5-star guard ZaKiyah Johnson – No. 7 overall, No. 4 guard – Sacred Heart Academy (KY)
- 5-star wing Deniya Prawl – No. 15 overall, No. 4 wing – IMG Academy (FL)
- 5-star wing Kaelyn Carroll – No. 29 overall, No. 7 wing – Tabor Academy (MA)
- 4-star wing Lauren Hurst – No. 35 overall, No. 8 wing – Cleveland High School (TN)
- 4-star wing Aubrey Shaw – No. 36 overall, No. 9 wing – Blue Valley North (KS)
- 4-star guard Adelaide Jernigan – No. 58 overall, No. 24 guard – Bishop McGuinness (NC)
- 4-star guard Bryn Martin – No. 61 overall, No. 25 guard – No. Springboro (OH)
- 4-star forward Manuella Alves – No. 64 overall, No. 9 forward – Central Pointe Christian Academy (FL)
- 4-star guard Madison Parrish – No. 88 overall, No. 37 guard – Mason (OH)
- Forward Grace Mbugua – Unranked – Danville Christian Academy (KY)
2026
- 5-star forward Olivia Vukosa – No. 2 overall, No. 1 forward – Christ the King (FL)
- 5-star guard Trinity Jones – No. 5 overall, No. 4 guard – Bolingbrook (IL)
- 5-star guard Bella Flemings – No. 11 overall, No. 6 guard – Overtime Select (GA)
- 5-star forward Amari Byles – No. 13 overall, No. 3 forward – DeSoto (TX)
- 4-star point guard Kate Harpring – No. 18 overall, No. 2 point guard – Marist (GA)
- 4-star point guard Maddyn Greenway – No. 21 overall, No. 3 point guard – Providence Academy (MN)
- 4-star forward Kamora Pruitt – No. 24 overall, No. 5 forward – Legion Prep Academy (TX)
- 4-star wing Bella Ragone – No. 26 overall, No. 6 wing – Mill Creek (GA)
- 4-star guard Sanai Green – No. 29 overall, No. 12 guard – The Steward School (VA)
2027
- 5-star guard Ivanna Wilson Manyacka – No. 2 overall, No. 1 guard – Bullis (MD)
- 5-star wing Jordyn Palmer – No. 4 overall, No. 1 wing – Westtown (PA)
- 3-star guard Sydney Savoury – Unranked – Overtime Select (GA)
- Forward Isabella Marion – Unranked (international) – Denmark
- Guard Madeline Mignery – Unranked – Cardinal Mooney (FL)
2028
- Forward Sydney Douglas – Unranked (no rankings for 2028 yet) – Etiwanda (CA)
- Wing Ella Peper – Unranked (no rankings for 2028 yet) – Dexter Southfield (MA)
- Guard Chloe Johnson – Unranked (no rankings for 2028 yet) – Marshall (MN)
- Guard Jhaliana Guy – Unranked (no rankings for 2028 yet) – Bettendorf (IA)
2029
- Center Jayden McClain – Unranked (no rankings for 2029 yet) – Ryle (KY)
(Rankings from ESPN/HoopGurlz)
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