Wildcats Crowned SEC Newcomer of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Among Other High Honors
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kenny Brooks’ Wildcats hauled in numerous Southeastern Conference honors Tuesday, which were voted on by the league coaches, including Georgia Amoore being crowned SEC Newcomer of the Year and Clara Strack being named SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
Amoore also was named to the All-SEC First Team, while Strack also was named to the All-SEC Second Team and the SEC All-Defensive Team.
Amoore received the league’s first ever SEC Newcomer of the Year, which only considered transfers who had not previously competed in the SEC.
Strack is just the second player in program history to be named SEC Defensive Player of the Year, which also was awarded to Victoria Dunlap in 2011. Strack just broke Dunlap’s single-season school record in blocks last week.
Georgia Amoore
SEC Newcomer of the Year, All-SEC First Team
In a brand-new conference and with a brand-new team, Georgia Amoore, Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Top Five Finalist, is averaging the best stats of her college career in five categories, including 18.8 points per game, 42.4 field-goal percentage, 6.9 assists per game, 2.16 assist-turnover ratio and 1.0 steals per game. In addition, she also is averaging 2.4 3s per game and 2.1 rebounds per game.
She has scored double digits in all but one game this season (27), and she has scored 20+ points in 12 games this season. In fact, she had a stretch of six straight 20+ point games in 2024-25.
She tied the single-game school record in scoring on a career-high 43 points in a win at No. 13/12 Oklahoma, becoming just the fifth player in DI women’s basketball this season to score as many in a game. In that game, she added eight assists, becoming the lone player in the league to have at least 43 points and eight assists in a single game since at least 2002-03.
For the better half of the season, Amoore has led the nation or the Power 4 in assist per game, while she is currently third in the nation and second in the Power 4 (6.9). Her 6.9 assists per game are currently second in program history, while no UK player has even cracked into the top 10 in 15 seasons.
Even more impressive, she needs just 18 more assists to break the school record in total assists (209).
She has put together 18 games this season – and eight games in league action – with at least 15 points and five assists, the most of any SEC player since at least 2002-03. Moreover, in 16 league games, she is responsible for almost 50.0 percent of production thanks to her team-lead 326 points and team-lead 263 points from assists.
Amoore is the only current DI player – men or women – to have at least 2,000 career points (2,379) and 800 assists (848). The Wildcat also is the third player in DI women’s basketball history to have at least 2,300 career points and 800 career assists, joining Caitlin Clark (Iowa, 2020-24) and Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon, 2016-20).
Amoore has made at least seven 3s in three games this season, the first player in program history to have as many in at least three games in a single season. She also needs 19 more 3s to break the school record in 3s (84).
Clara Strack
SEC Defensive Player of the Year, All-SEC Second Team, SEC All-Defensive Team
Clara Strack, sophomore center and Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Finalist, is the only DI women’s basketball player this season to record each of the following stats in at least one game this season – 25 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, eight blocks, five steals and three 3s – a testament to the young center’s versatility.
Overall this season, she is averaging 15.3 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game (fourth in the league), 2.7 assists per game and 2.5 blocks per game (first in the league, ninth in the nation).
Recently, she combined for 46 points, 23 rebounds, six assists and five blocks in a record triumph against No. 11/11 Tennessee and a late nailbiter at No. 6/6 South Carolina.
She broke two school records in the triumph over Tennessee, including the single-game school record for FG% on her 11-of-11 from the field, which included 1-of-1 from the arc for the 6-5 center. She also broke the single-season school record for blocks in the game against UT, currently with 70 in 2024-25. She also had most field goal attempts without a miss by a DI women’s basketball player against an AP Top 15 team since at least 2002-03. She also became the only DI women’s basketball player to have at least 23 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and two assists against an AP Top 25 team since at least 2002-03.
At No. 6/6 South Carolina, Strack became the first player to have at least 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal against USC since UConn’s Gabby Williams on Feb. 13, 2017. She also became the only player to do so in Columbia since at least 2002-03.
If the season ended today, her 2.5 blocks per game would be a school record. Also, in addition to breaking the single-season school record in blocks against UT, she also broke the single-game school record with eight blocks at Ole Miss on Feb. 10.
The Wildcat has scored in double digits in 23-of-28 games this season, including 15 15+ point games and eight 20+ point games. She also has logged 13 double-doubles this season (third in the league).
Strack was the leading rebounder in a trio of current UK players that were all averaging more than 9.0 rebounds per game at one point this season, just the fifth trio in DI women’s basketball history to set that benchmark.
Strack also has dished out multiple assists in 20-of-28 games this season, including a career-high eight assists against NKU on Nov. 7. Strack also can shoot from the arc with 15 3s this season, while she went a career-best 3-of-5 in a win at No. 13/12 Oklahoma on Feb. 2.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
