Ciara Byars believes she can handle the ball better than most know. (Les Nicholson Photo)
George Rogers Clark junior Ciara Byars considers herself an “inside-out player” so playing different roles on her high school team and on the Nike EYBL circuit is not a big problem for her.
“With EYBL, we pretty much look for matchups. Some games I am on the perimeter, some games on the inside more,” she said.
Byars, one of three Kentucky players ranked in the top 35 nationally of the 2025 recruiting class, has worked to showcase her 3-point shooting against EYBL competition.
“The shot is there. I just don’t showcase it as much in high school,” Byars said. “I have been working on my ball handling as well. Most people don’t know that in seventh and eighth grade I was the primary ball handler for GRC. I can do that better than most people know and we all do it in EYBL. If you get the rebound, you can push it. I like that.”
The 6-1 forward already has about 15 Division I scholarship offers, including Kentucky, Louisville and Mississippi State. There’s also one from Cincinnati where her older sister, Brianna Byars, will be a freshman next season.
Ciara averaged 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for state semifinalist GRC (28-8) last year when she shot 52 percent from the field.
She says recruiting has been a “fun” process so far since it started in earnest in June with nonstop calls and contact from coaches.
“I am enjoying it. It has not been overwhelming yet,” she said. “Playing on the (EYBL) circuit has been very competitive and then when I play with my high school team we have a few new additions but we have competed and played hard and been able to pull out some wins. Summer is pretty much getting the team together and getting a feel for next season but this year I’ve just had to deal with recruiting, too.”
Her sister, Brianna, has been a dominating player for GRC on the inside but her absence has created another void Ciara hopes to fill for GRC.
“I have to step into more of a leadership role. We were kind of like co-leaders. I have to pick up on that with her at Cincinnati now,” Byars said. “The scoring will come and our new additions will have to pick up on offense and defense because she helped us on both ends tremendously.”
