Taylor Soule, shown talking to UK players during Media Day, respects UK coach Kenny Brooks so much that she had his name tattooed on her leg. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Taylor Soule transferred to Virginia Tech for her final season of collegiate basketball and not only was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer but also part of the 2023 Final Four team. She started all 36 games and averaged 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game during the 31-5 season.
She was named to the Cheryl Miller Award and Wooden Award Watch Lists. She became the 28th overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft but had to pause her professional career this season due to an injury.
Soule is now a program assistant on Brooks’ Kentucky staff and the UK coach said he’s a big believer in giving back. However, he was not quite aware of just how much Soule appreciated what he had done for her until Big Blue Madness.
“So we’re about to go out to Big Blue Madness. I’m thinking about the routine. I got this DJ thing that I had been practicing for and Taylor comes up to me, and she says, ‘Coach, they were giving out free tattoos, and this crazy fan got your name tattooed on their leg,’” Brooks said.
The Kentucky coach was not ready for that.
“My initial reaction was, ‘What idiot would put my name on their leg?’” Brooks said.
Before he could blurt that out to Soule, she raised her leg to show it was her who got the tattoo.
“I’ll admit it, I got chill bumps. I had tears come up because everything that she and I’ve been through for the last couple of years, it just kind of flashed in front of me,” the Kentucky coach said. “It just showed me that I am making a difference in someone’s life enough that we’re bonded together forever. Whether she likes me or not, we are together.”
Brooks called it a “powerful” moment and emphasized to him what a big part of her journey he had been.
“Enough that she would do something as permanent as that (tattoo), it makes you feel really, really good,” Brooks said. “I didn’t call her an idiot, but I gave her a big hug. I said, ‘Man, that’s the smartest thing (getting a tattoo). It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.’”
