UK women’s basketball features top in-state talent. The Cats plan to keep it that way.

ZaKiyah Johnson is keeping the early stages of her college basketball recruitment close to her chest, something well within her rights given the level of schools pursuing the star girls’ basketball player from the commonwealth.

Johnson, who is listed as a 5-foot-11 guard, but can and has played everywhere on the floor, received offers from Kentucky and Louisville before she played her eighth-grade season.

Now, in the months before her sophomore season of high school begins, Johnson has added prestigious women’s basketball powers UConn and South Carolina to her lengthy list of scholarship offers.

There’s good reason for this fanfare around Johnson.

As a freshman last season at Louisville’s Sacred Heart Academy, Johnson led the team in scoring and was named Kentucky’s Gatorade Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year. Sacred Heart posted a 36-3 record and won the state championship, which marked a record sixth state title for the Valkyries.

Johnson — who is currently ranked as the No. 2 overall player in the class of 2025 by ESPN — was also the Sweet 16 MVP this spring, and scored 12 points in the title game win.

Among the other accolades Johnson has received is MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year honors after she averaged 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last season.

“It’s been fun. A lot of people have always told me at a young age that I was going to be great, but to make it become real is even crazier,” Johnson told the Herald-Leader in August at the Under Armour Next Elite 24 showcase in Chicago. “It’s the best freshman year I could ask for.”

By now, Johnson is used to the attention from outsiders at what her college and pro potential might be.

This started early for her, when she was routinely posting double-doubles while playing up as a seventh- and eighth-grader at Shelby County High School. During her eighth-grade season, Johnson averaged 21.8 points per game for Shelby County.

Johnson said the move from Shelby County to Sacred Heart was one made with an eye toward the future, but she credits that initial experience with helping her prosper at Sacred Heart.

“I think it matured me. I was ready, I’d been here before, I’ve played at this stage before,” Johnson said of those seasons at Shelby County. “My mindset is strong. I’ve grown out of my 15-year-old mindset.”

In what ways does Johnson feel she’s grown more mature than the average 15-year-old?

“When I push myself — a lot of people like to give up — and I don’t,” Johnson explained. “I’m pushing myself as much as I can.”

It’s that motor, along with her on-court versatility, that has Johnson already pegged as a top college prospect.

When speaking to the Herald-Leader in August, Johnson said there are about five schools that she’s connected with the most in her recruitment. Johnson didn’t specify the schools.

But she did discuss what she’s hearing from two schools close to her that likely have a foothold in her recruitment: Louisville and Kentucky.

“You can be close to home, you can be a hometown hero. We want to make you better of course, but kind of like a family thing from both of them,” Johnson said of the recruiting pitch from those two in-state schools.

Kentucky hopes to add another top in-state recruit

In its pursuit of Johnson, Kentucky can make a compelling case.

The Wildcats just produced the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, Rhyne Howard, who also went on to win Rookie of the Year honors last season.

“I definitely want to go to the WNBA, so seeing (Howard) be a first-round pick, of course Kentucky is going to be in my mix at all times,” Johnson said.

There’s also the additional layer of being a prized basketball recruit from Kentucky that’s being courted by the state’s flagship university.

Johnson was one of the top players on the guest list last Friday night for Big Blue Madness, the preseason kickoff event inside Rupp Arena that serves as the start of the UK men’s and women’s basketball seasons.

Johnson previously took a visit to Kentucky in June 2021, and was also at last year’s edition of Big Blue Madness.

There was a distinct local flavor to the women’s basketball portion of the 2022 event though, as the Wildcats’ revamped roster now features five players who played high school basketball in Kentucky, including a pair of Kentucky Miss Basketball winners.

“That’s very important ... To be the flagship school, to have the top talent in Kentucky and for them to want to wear blue,” UK women’s basketball head coach Kyra Elzy told the Herald-Leader this month. “I just think there’s a different level of understanding of what it means to play at Kentucky, and they are excited. I know our fans will be behind them, as well as the whole team, but I think it gets the people in the state excited about seeing hometown girls.”

Elzy knows this feeling well, having been a standout athlete herself at Oldham County High School.

Does recruiting in-state players matter more to Elzy given her background?

“I don’t know if it means more to me, I just think you have a better understanding of what it means when you’re from Kentucky,” Elzy said.

Four questions with ZaKiyah Johnson

Whether she ends up at Kentucky, Louisville or one of the other women’s college basketball powerhouses recruiting her, Johnson figures to be one of the next great players from the commonwealth upon her high school graduation in 2025.

But it isn’t all basketball with her.

Get to know more about Johnson below.

What’s your favorite food?

Shrimp alfredo.

What’s you favorite TV show or movie?

“Love & Basketball.” It’s like me, minus the dating stuff. That’s the one movie I can sit and watch over and over.

What superpower would you choose and why?

Mind reading. I just want to see what everybody’s thinking. If you’re just sitting there looking at me, being nice to me and then you really hate me, I just want to know.

Who is your biggest basketball influence?

I watched my uncle play (in high school) all the time. I went to every game with my mom, he kind of brought me into the game. I would go sit with his team. My mom was also a coach, she played at Morehead State. She was a coach at my old high school (Shelby County) before Sacred Heart. I would go to every practice and all that, so I just watched my family.