Virginia Tech commit Clara Silva, a 6-foot-6 center from Portugal, flips to Kentucky

Kenny Brooks continues to crush it on the recruiting trail — and he’s only a few weeks into his tenure as head coach.

On Sunday afternoon, Clara Silva, a 6-foot-6 class of 2024 recruit from Meinedo, Portugal, announced that she has flipped her commitment from Virginia Tech to Kentucky women’s basketball. Silva is the second former Virginia Tech high school commit to flip to the Wildcats, joining four-star wing Lexi Blue, who also joined the fold earlier this month.

As an international prospect, Silva is not ranked by any recruiting outlets. However, ESPN’s Shane Laflin wrote in November that Silva would be considered a top-10 prospect in the country if she played in the United States.

BREAKING: 6-foot-7 Portuguese center Clara Silva has committed to KENTUCKY, she announced on Instagram.

The Virginia Tech decommit averaged 18.1 PPG, 11.6 RPG, and 2.3 BPG in the European U18 Championships. pic.twitter.com/i7VxwEXZr5

— Phoenix Stevens (@PStevensKSR) April 14, 2024

Silva was courted by the likes of UConn, Maryland, Tennessee, and North Carolina prior to choosing Virginia Tech in September. She signed her National Letter of Intent with the Hokies in November.

Last summer at the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship, Silva played in seven games for her home country of Portugal. She averaged 18.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in 33.1 minutes per outing while shooting 44.9 percent overall. Silva currently plays in Malaga, Spain, for Unicaja Baloncesto.

Brooks, who took over as the Kentucky WBB head coach on March 26 after eight seasons at Virginia Tech, has also brought a pair of former Hokies with him to Lexington. All-American point guard Georgia Amoore and 6-foot-5 sophomore center Clara Strack announced their transfers to UK on Thursday, as did 6-foot-3 Australian forward Amelia Hassett, a JUCO product who was previously committed to VT.

Earlier this month, Kentucky junior point guard Brooklynn Miles announced that she has entered her name into the transfer portal. That puts Kentucky at nine players currently in the portal with just two pieces (Saniah Tyler and Cassidy Rowe) remaining from last season’s roster.

That being said, Brooks has now added five new pieces to the 2024-25 roster. More movement will likely be on the way.