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Rhyne Howard Wins WNBA Rookie of the Year

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Atlanta Dream

Former Wildcat star, Rhyne Howard ends her record-breaking rookie season by being named WNBA Rookie of the Year, announced on Thursday as she received 53 of 56 votes.

After being selected No. 1 in the 2022 NBA Draft, Howard was tasked to be the star of the rebuilding Atlanta Dream team and she did not disappoint in her rookie season. Howard put up an impressive stat line for any WNBA player, let alone a rookie: 16.2 points (led all rookies, 11th in the WNBA), 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists (led all rookies), and 1.4 steals (led all rookies).

Not to mention, accomplished many other feats including:

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  • 2022 WNBA Rookie of the Year 
  • 2022 Associated Press Rookie of the Year 
  • 2022 USA National Training Camp selection 
  • Swept the WNBA Rookie of the Month honors (May – August), to earn the most WNBA Rookie of the Month honors in Atlanta Dream history with four 
  • Invited to compete in the WNBA All-Star Game and 3-Point Contest 
  • Most three-pointers made (85) and attempted (248) in a rookie season in league history, and the most made and attempted by any Atlanta Dream player in franchise history 
  • Most points scored in a rookie season (552) in franchise history, making her the first Dream rookie to ever eclipse 500 points in one season 
  • Most 10+ point games (30), 15+ point games (20) and 20+ point games (11) of any rookie in Dream history 
  • Most defensive rebounds (127) in a season by any Dream rookie in franchise history 
  • Became the first rookie in league history to record four 3-point field goals and four blocks in their debut game 
  • Was named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week and AP Player of the Week after her first week on the court in May, scoring the most points in a quarter by any rookie in the league against Indiana on May 15  

Despite missing the playoffs, Howard helped the Dream improve on their record, going from 8-24 last season to 14-22 this season.

Next season, Howard will look to build on an impressive rookie campaign and help the Dream reach the playoffs, in addition to being a star representative for the University of Kentucky.

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A Pair of Kentucky Alumni Look to Continue Hot Streaks in NBA Play-In

Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo led the Miami Heat to a win in the first round of the NBA play-in, and they aren’t done yet.

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Tyler Herro during his time at Kentucky.
UK Athletics

Despite playing during different eras in their time wearing the blue and white, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo have come together on the next level to create a powerful duo for the Miami Heat. Their performance in the first round of this year’s play-in is further proof of their effectiveness together.

The nine-seeded Heat traveled to Chicago to fight for a spot in the playoffs, and from the jump, the aforementioned pair of Kentucky alumni took control in what became a complete blowout.

Throughout the convincing 109-90 road win, Herro, now in his fifth year in the NBA, led the offensive charge. He finished the night with a stat-stuffing 38 points, five rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes of game time. Chicago simply didn’t have an answer for Miami’s flame-throwing shooter out of Lexington.

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In the paint, Bam Adebayo held things down and led the team in rebounds, nabbing 12 boards, and tallying 15 points to boot in just one less minute than Herro. Together, the duo buried the Bulls on their own floor and kept the Heat’s head above water going forward.

While both players came up ultimately short during their time with Kentucky, albeit after two incredibly memorable seasons and Elite Eight runs, their ongoing success in the NBA is both a testament to their talent and the program’s legacy. Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.

The Kentucky Heat (Miami Wildcats?) will be back in action tonight against the Atlanta Hawks to determine their seeding fate in the NBA Playoffs. Tune in at 7:00 p.m. on TNT, truTV, or Max to cheer on some seriously special former ‘Cats.

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Can The Bat Cats Get Hot At The Right Time?

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Kentucky baseball needs to start piling up the wins
Ethan Rand | UK Athletics

Sitting at a 20-14 (6-9 SEC) record with just under 20 games remaining in the regular season, it’s fair to say that Kentucky baseball must play every remaining game on its schedule like a playoff game; a must win.

Through 34 games this season, the Bat Cats have already played in 17 games that have been decided by two or less runs or went into extra innings.

You can look at the recent series’ against No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 2 Texas as examples. Kentucky went toe-to-toe with both of these squads, and frankly, should have left each of those series with more than one win to its name.

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As the Wildcats hover around the top 40 mark in multiple rankings, it’s assumed that if they win a little more than half of their games, they’re almost an automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. We’ve seen several SEC teams make the tournament before with just 13 confrence wins.

Kentucky has exactly 18 games remaining, 15 of those being conference matchups. This weekend, the Wildcats travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to take on the No. 2 team in the nation, the Tennessee Volunteers.

Knocking off the defending National Champions at least once would be huge for Nick Mingione and company, earning Kentucky’s fifth victory of the season against a top 15 opponent.

“For us, it just keeps coming back to our ability to execute, said Mingione after the Wildcats walk-off win on April 15. “I just keep harping on these guys about is when we execute, and we do what we’re trained to do, we’ve had a lot of success…I have the belief in this team.”

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Tonight, the first pitch against the Volunteers is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.

The Wildcats remaining conference schedule consists of:

April 18-20 @ No. 2 Tennessee

April 25-27 vs. South Carolina

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May 2-4 @ Mississippi State

May 9-11 vs. No. 12 Oklahoma

May 15-17 @ No. 19 Vanderbilt


All rankings are provided from Baseball America.

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Kentucky Officially Signs Transfer Guard Tonie Morgan

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Tonie Morgan
UK Athletics

On April 15, Georgia Tech transfer Tonie Morgan committed to Kentucky, the third transfer that Kenny Brooks has earned this offseason.

Almost as trademark as Cody Fueger’s “boom” posts, when you hear ‘Sicko Mode’ and see this video, you know Brooks just locked in another commit.

The two-time All-ACC guard averaged 13.7 points per game, 5.6 assists per game and 4.5 rebounds per game as a junior last season. Now a senior, Morgan brings even more leadership and depth to this Kentucky squad.

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Leading Georgia Tech in assists and showcasing her playmaking skills all last season, it’s clear that Brooks has found his replacement for Georgia Amoore.

Morgan has huge shoes to fill, stepping up to be Kentucky’s floor general after the departure of one of the greatest to ever play, but that chapter is over and now this team needs a new identity.

Will she pull deep threes like Amoore? No, not necessarily, but she will get downhill, find shooters and take advantage of any defender that isn’t fast enough to keep up.

On April 17, the team announced that Morgan is officially a Wildcat, receiving high praise from Brooks himself.

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“Tonie has demonstrated that she is one of the better point guards in the country and we are very fortunate that she will be in the Blue and White,” said Brooks.

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