UConn's Patterson Transfers to Kentucky

0:00It's April 18th. This is hard for news today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with the story. Ayanna Patterson, the 6 foot 2 forward from Yukon, is transferring to Kentucky for the 2026-2027 season. The top recruit from the class of 2022 entered the portal back on April 6th and made her commitment public on Instagram this Saturday. She graduated from Yukon, but still has two years of eligibility left as a red shirt sophomore after battling major injuries. Patterson barely saw the floor with the Huskies due to health issues. She redshirted the 2023-2024 season for knee surgery and missed all of 2024-2025 with a shoulder problem that needed fixing too. When she did plan 2025-2026, she averaged just 5 minutes over 30 games similar to her freshman year. Kentucky had a solid run last season, going 25 and 11, finishing 6th in the SEC and making it to the sweet 16th their deepest. Tournament pushed since

1:002015. 2016 undercoach Kenny Brooks. Patterson walked the Yukon senior day but made it clear she has more hoops ahead and fans are buzzing about her adding size to the wildcats. She's not the only Yukon departure classmate Ice Brady. Another top 5 recruit in 6 foot 3 forward also hit the portal as a red shirt junior. After knee troubles limited her to two games this year, Yukon has lost just eight scholarship players since the portal started in 2019 and they've never dropped a starter. With up to three open spots, the Huskies could grab some portal talent themselves, though coach Gino Ariema has been picky signing only 5. Transfers who all contributed right away. Keep an eye on how this shakes up, both squads come next season.