Clara Strack leads the SEC in blocked shots and is ninth in the country. (UK Athletics Photo)
Her coach had been openly campaigning for her to be recognized as one of the best players in the Southeastern Conference and Tuesday Kentucky sophomore Clara Strack got that recognition.
She was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year and obviously made the SEC all-defensive team. She was also an all-SEC second team pick.
“Definitely not something I was expecting, but super exciting for sure,” Strack said Tuesday before practice. “When you play for a coach like coach Brooks, you have that opportunity to grow a lot. As long as you’re working hard with him, you’re going to grow a lot. I’ve really enjoyed that.”
Strack, a Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Finalist, is the only Division I women’s basketball player to have each of the following stats in at least one game this season — 25 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, eight blocks, five steals and three 3’s .
She is averaging 15.3 points, 9.5 rebounds (fourth in the league), 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks (first in the league, ninth in the nation) per game.
She broke two school records in a win over Tennessee when she went 11-for-11 from the field to set the single game field goal percentage record and also broke the single season school record for blocks 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.
“She was sitting last year (at Virginia Tech) and didn’t play a lot of minutes until the end when our center got hurt,” Brooks said. “I saw she was hungry and wanted to get going.
“On defense she does things that do not pop out on the stat sheet. She anchors our defense. I am glad she got recognized by the coaches. I was worried she might get overlooked.”
One Response
She is going to be the most dominant player in college basketball next year! Mark my words! She’s a very hard worker! Plus practicing against someone even taller than her has helped her our tremendously. The same goes for the Florida mens basketball team. They have that guy who’s 7’9" he doesn’t help them in the games but just being able to do drills and make guys practice altering shots has been the key to there success. I think just like the Mens basketball team the women’s basketball team will be better and better every year. This year Brooks is making a name for Kentucky women’s basketball in his first year. Next year the top recruits will start coming to Kentucky. A great thing is the women’s team will only be losing I think 2 players Amoore and Lawrence. Everyone else will be back next year and much better! Brooks really recruits and develops. Plus I love how he goes after size! You can’t teach size! Size also makes the opposing team so tired from having to constantly jump higher and run faster. We have the best front Court in women’s college basketball and the best part about it is we will have everyone back. I just hope Silva doesn’t transfer! Can you imagine when she’s a junior and Strack is a senior the best twin tower combo in the history of women’s college basketball! You might as well just shoot 3 pointers because nobody will be able to score in the paint. Next year with Key, Strack, Silva, and Hassett* we might have the greatest front court in women’s college basketballs history! If Brooks can get 2 great point guards in the transfer portal we will be unstoppable next year! I guarantee he wins a national championship if he can get a couple great guards. He will get a final 4 this year or next year. And a national championship in the next 3 years. It could be this year! You never know! It could be next year! But it will happen! Mark it down!