Kyra Elzy addresses Dre'Una Edwards' statement regarding eligibility waiver

Kyra Elzy is standing firm in her position regarding former Kentucky Women’s Basketball star Dre’Una Edwards. Yesterday, Edwards released a statement on social media claiming that Elzy is refusing to sign a waiver that would allow her to play this season at Baylor. (Because this is Edwards’ second transfer and she didn’t graduate, NCAA rules say she must sit this season out.) Not long after that tweet went out, Kentucky WBB released its own statement saying they wouldn’t sign the waiver because it implied that Edwards, the star of last year’s SEC Tournament championship run, wouldn’t have had a spot on next year’s team had she stayed, which was false.

To start her press conference previewing Kentucky WBB’s game vs. LSU on Sunday, Elzy addressed the issue, telling reporters she will not change her stance.

“I would like to take this time to address the statement that Dre Edwards put out yesterday. We were asked by Baylor to sign the NCAA No Participation Opportunity form certifying that Dre would not have the opportunity to participate if she stayed at Kentucky and that is not correct. She would have had the opportunity to participate had she stayed.

“Dre, along with Baylor and every other school that contacted us, had the understanding that she would not be able to play right away because she did not graduate. Our compliance addressed it with her in March. Everyone was clear about what would happen. She would need to sit a year to play a year. I addressed this in March. I’m 100% confident in what we offer our student-athletes academically and athletically to be successful. My priority is this program and our players. Dre decided to leave in March. We moved on and she moved on and that’s where we stand.”

Edwards, who began her college career at Utah, spent three years at Kentucky and played two, averaging 9.7 points and 6.1 rebounds in 2020-21. Last season, she emerged as one of the top players in the SEC, averaging 16.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.0 blocks in 29.0 minutes per contest. Of course, in March, she hit the game-winning three to give Kentucky its first SEC Tournament championship since 1982.

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Edwards hopeful Elzy will reconsider

The Next is also covering this story and spoke to several coaches who said it’s common for programs to sign off on No Participation Opportunity forms as a courtesy to the player. Edwards, who admits she made mistakes at Kentucky, told The Next she hoped that would be the case with Elzy.

“I would just ask [Elzy]: What’s the reason?” Edwards told The Next. “And why is she doing this? What does she feel like she’s getting out of this? I say that would be my question.”

Edwards released her statement hours before Kentucky WBB’s game vs. Georgia last night. The program released its response before tipoff. Today, Elzy said she will not let it become a distraction.

“That’s part of sitting in this seat. There are moving parts all the time. I just keep my priority and focus on this team, the staff, and program. No one else gets into our circle and we stay focused on priority and that situation is not a priority for me. I have bigger things to worry about and that’s not one that I’m going to spend any more time or answer any more questions about.”