The Wildcats get stronger
The University of Kentucky has signed two transfers from schools within the Southeastern Conference, the school announced Wednesday.
The first is former Lady Vol Jazmine Massengill, who announced her departure from Tennessee a couple weeks ago. Last season as a starter, she averaged 28.5 minutes, 6.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists.
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“Jazmine is an electric guard that uses her size and strength to really make a difference on both ends of the court,” said head coach Matthew Mitchell. “Off the court, her personality can light up a room and I am so excited she is a Wildcat and brings that energy to our program.”
Now, Massengill, a five-star recruit in 2018, will reunite with her friend, 2020 SEC Player of the Year Rhyne Howard, along with incoming freshman Treasure Hunt. Weeks ago, Howard shared Massengill’s transfer announcement post on Instagram with the caption “reunion?” and tagged Hunt and Massengill.
Kentucky also announced the signing of Robyn Benton, who was one of many Auburn players who entered the transfer portal in March. Benton played in 20 games, averaging 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 1.4 assists per game last season. She was named to the 2019 SEC All-Freshman Team.
“Robyn is a fantastic player that really is going to fit in perfectly here at Kentucky,” Mitchell said. “When you look at her production the last two seasons, she has shown an ability to score at a high level and has some defensive intangibles that you cannot teach averaging nearly two steals per game. Most of all, she comes from a fantastic family and is a terrific person away from basketball and we are overjoyed to welcome her to Big Blue Nation.”
Despite losing five seniors, Rhyne Howard is getting support. This only makes Kentucky that much more of a threat to the top of the SEC.
Current NCAA rules state that Massengill and Benton must sit out the 2020-21 season due to transfer rules, but that may change soon. The NCAA is expected to vote in May to decide if it will allow players to transfer once and be eligible immediately.
But Kameron Roach and Deasia Merrill will be returning from injury, 2019 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Dre’una Edwards will hit the court after sitting out due to transfer rules. Along with Hunt, incoming freshmen Erin Toller and Niya Leveretter are ranked in ESPN’s recruiting top 100 for 2020.
April 15 was the day schools could return to signing players to scholarships, so we saw a deluge of announcements across conferences.
Also today, Rutgers center Maori Davenport, a top recruit in 2019, signed with Georgia, and Mississippi State’s Chloe Bibby announced her transfer to Maryland.
Current NCAA rules state that players must sit out a year after transferring. The NCAA is expected to vote in May to decide if it will allow players to transfer once and be eligible immediately.
High Post Hoops is in the process of creating a SEC Transfer Tracker to keep you up to date on what players are departing, returning or arriving at each of the league’s 14 schools. (Editor’s note: It’ll help us, too!)
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