Kentucky WBB releases jersey numbers, finalized roster for 2023-24

Kentucky women’s basketball is preparing for a bounce-back season in what will be Kyra Elzy’s fourth year as head coach. After making the NCAA Tournament during her first two runs as the lead woman (including the program’s first SEC Tournament championship in 40 years), Elzy’s Wildcats tumbled in year three to a 12-19 overall record with just two conference wins and a last-place finish in the SEC.

Navigating the waters of the post-Rhyne Howard era (who was just tabbed to her second consecutive WNBA All-Star Game appearance) was always going to be choppy. While the 2022-23 season didn’t go as planned for Elzy and company, there are reasons to get excited for what’s in store for 2023-24. Home games will be played at Rupp Arena while Memorial Coliseum continues renovations, Maddie Scherr is a likely Preseason All-SEC member, and there is still plenty of roster continuity despite the loss of three ‘Cats to the portal and three more to graduation.

Including Scherr, there are now five Bluegrass-born players on the roster, three of which won Kentucky Miss Basketball during their high school days: Scherr (2018; Ryle), Brooklynn Miles (2021; Franklin County), and Amiya Jenkins (2022; Anderson County). New assistant coach Crystal Kelly is also a former Kentucky Miss Basketball winner when she was at Sacred Heart in 2004.

Looking at this season’s roster, there are only a handful of new faces: one transfer (Miles; Tennessee) and two freshmen (6-2 G Jordy Griggs and 6-4 F Janae Waker). In fact, there was just as much staff turnover as there was roster turnover this offseason. Guard Emma King is now the eldest of the bunch as a graduate student, taking advantage of her extra year of eligibility granted due to COVID-19.

This season’s roster will be made up of two freshmen, four sophomores, one junior, four seniors, and one graduate student.

With offseason moves in the book (as far as we know, at least), Kentucky WBB has released a finalized roster that includes jersey numbers and other personal information for the upcoming season. Only one player from last season switched their number — Cassidy Rowe went from No. 23 to No. 5, which was previously held by the now-graduated Blair Green.

Check out the entire roster for the Wildcats’ 2023-24 season below.

Kentucky WBB jersey numbers (2023-24 season)

#0 Brooklynn Miles (Jr. G) 5-4 | Franklin County (Frankfort, KY)
#2 Saniah Tyler (So. G) 5-6 | Incarnate Word Academy (Florissant, MO)
#3 Jordy Griggs (Fr. G) 6-2 | Montverde Academy (Moreno Valley, CA)
#4 Eniya Russell (Sr. G) 6-1 | Saint Vincent Palloti (Baltimore, MD)
#5 Cassidy Rowe (So. G) 5-6 | Shelby Valley (Virgie, KY)
#13 Ajae Petty (Sr. F) 6-3 | Baltimore Polytechnic Institue (Baltimore, MD)
#20 Amiya Jenkins (So. G) 5-10 | Anderson County (Lexington, KY)
#21 Nyah Leveretter (Sr. F) 6-3 | Westwood (Blythewood, SC)
#22 Maddie Scherr (Sr. G) 5-11 | Ryle (Florence, KY)
#24 Zennia Thomas (So. F) 6-2 | Warrensville Heights (Lyndhurst, OH)
#34 Emma King (Gr. G) 5-10 | Lincoln County (Stanford, KY)
#44 Janae Walker (Fr. F) 6-4 | Sandy Creek (Tyrone, GA)

#WildcatWednesday 😸🫶✨

Ft. some new numbers! pic.twitter.com/7j27T2uD3l

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) July 12, 2023

Using the past as fuel for the future

A common theme throughout offseason practices and workouts so far for Kentucky women’s basketball has been the use of the No. 14. Go look at any video package or photo album and you’ll quickly notice that the players are always rocking a No. 14 on their workout shirts. Why? Kentucky finished 14th — last place — in the Southeastern Conference standings in 2022-23.

The No. 14 is a not-so-subtle reminder of how poorly things went during the 2022-23 season, but it’s also being used as fuel for this summer to make sure that doesn’t happen again. The last time Kentucky WBB finished worse than 10th in the SEC was all the way back in 2003-04 when Mickie DeMoss was in her first year as head coach. The ‘Cats will look to make a leap in the standings this coming season.

What did you do this morning at 6:30 a.m. ET?#FlexFriday 😤 pic.twitter.com/SQTMpdoQpZ

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) July 7, 2023