Clara Strack Knows NCAA Experience Will Help Her This Season

Clara Strack with freshman teammate Cassidy Rowe. (Larry Vaught Photo)

Clara Strack grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and played her first collegiate basketball season in Blacksburg, Va., for coach Kenny Brooks at Virginia Tech.

Now she’s with Brooks at Kentucky and admits it is “definitely different” in Lexington for her.

“The weather’s a lot different but I’m really enjoying Lexington. I’m loving the city,” the 6-5 Strack said.

Kentucky fans could find themselves “loving” Strack when the season starts. She averaged 9.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 1.2 assists and 25.4 minutes per game in her final five games last season after All-American teammate Elizabeth Kitley went down with a knee injury. She had 17 points in a NCAA Tournament win over Marshall and 18 points and 10 rebounds in the second round against Baylor.

Strack understands how much that late-season experience is going to help her this year.

“I think the fact that I’m already familiar with coach Brooks’ system and I know how he’s going to coach me. I know he’s gonna push me. I think that’s gonna help a lot this year,” Strack said.

Strack was a top 100 player in the 2023 recruiting class and was named the New York State Sportswriters Association Player of the Year after averaging 24.4 points, 16.2 rebounds, 3.2 blocks and 2.3 steals per game as a senior. She broke her high school’s 22-year-old all-time career scoring record for both girls and boys.

“I knew a little bit about it. I wasn’t completely sure on what the (all-time scoring) numbers were but it was pretty nice to do that,” she said.

Strack figures to be a “big” part of Brooks’ first team at Kentucky and she loves the relationships he builds with his players.

“I think he truly cares. You hear every school talking about a family atmosphere. You hear him talking about culture, but I think that that is truly a priority to him,” Strack said. ‘I think that the way that he builds relationships and uses that on the court, I think that’s really important to him.”

Strack hopes she can build on what she did in last year’s NCAA tourney after she got her opportunity to start.

“I think that that was a really good opportunity for me to show what I had been working for all season and what I could do, but obviously there’s a lot more to grow from there. There’s a lot more to build on from that,” Strack said. “I think that’s really going to help with my confidence and I know there is definitely a lot more to improve on.”

Kitley helped Strack daily last season and pushed her to improve.

“I think playing under her really changed the way I played. I think her mindset just really encouraged me,” Strack said.

Brooks has stressed the need for Strack to improve on every aspect of her game going into her sophomore season.

“We’re also stressing my personal confidence right now,” Strack said. “I mean, it’s got better but we’re still working on it.”