By LARRY VAUGHT
She has 36 scholarship offers and is ranked as the nation’s 11th best player in the 2025 recruiting class by ESPN but what has Louisville Mercy junior Leah Macy the most excited recently is being elevated to a five-star recruit.
“It was a big deal. I really want to be a McDonald’s All-American. That’s my goal. To see that fifth star and go up four spots (to No. 11 in the national rankings), I was like all this hard work is paying off. It was a really good feeling,” said Macy.
“I am not an overly emotional person so I don’t like to say much about it but I know to me it is like, ‘Wow.’ I am just going to keep working. I am a very humble person which I think is a good trait but it is a big deal and very nice to see.”
Macy is not one to share all her scholarship offers/personal goals. She doesn’t post all her accolades on social media but getting the five-star rating boosted her confidence even more.
“I have always been very confident but adding another star is a pretty big honor and takes you to another level. Now I just have to keep that ranking up and get that McDonald’s All-American,” Macy said.
The 6-3 wing/power forward has an amazing offer list: Illinois, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Oklahoma, LSU, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, South Florida, Eastern Kentucky, Mississippi State, Cincinnati, Louisville, Murray State, Western Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida State, Xavier, Dayton, Ohio State, Michigan, DePaul, North Carolina, Harvard, Clemson, Vanderbilt, Belmont, Notre Dame, Alabama, Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Wake Forrest, Maryland, TCU, Miami, West Virginia and Nebraska.
She admits recruiting got “crazy” June 1 when schools could reach out. Many schools made social media graphics saluting her when she became a five-star player.
“That is always really cool that they notice it and reach out. It doesn’t impact recruiting at all because I have always been a high prospect and playing on the (Nike) EYBL helps me a lot but it is still for me (being a five-star recruit) it is a big honor and I am very proud of that,” Macy said.
Numerous coaches wanted to watch Macy in the EYBL play to allow her to showcase more of her perimeter game than she does in high school. However, she had a historic game in the state tournament when a teammate’s injury forced her to become Mercy’s primary ball handler. She responded with 37 points on 11 of 21 shooting from the field and 15 of 20 at the foul line and also had 21 rebounds, two assists and one block in a 70-64 win over Cooper.
She plays with a lot of high level athletes in Nike EYBL play but knew in summer play with her high school team she had to take a bigger leadership role.
“I don’t have to go out here and score 50 in the summer. I will go out and score in the season but I have to allow them (teammates) to take and learn different roles,” Macy said. “I have to allow other teammates to learn through mistakes in the summer. Wins and losses didn’t matter in June.
“I play more of a 4 in EYBL which is where I will play in college and shoot more 3’s. I don’t do that as much in high school.”
Macy says education will influence her college choice as much as athletics.
“Education is a huge part. I am going for like the 40 years (of life), not just the four (years of basketball). I want to get a degree that after I finish playing basketball and the ball stops bouncing that I can keep doing life. That is a big part finding somewhere where the education is very high,” Macy said.
“I am already getting a very good high school education and I am blessed and want to continue that in college. That is an easier way to narrow it down a little bit. Then comes the relationship with coaches.”
She is visiting some schools this month and wanted to make sure both parents and her younger sisters could accompany here.
“Both of my parents are extremely involved in the process which I am very blessed about. Their phones are blowing up with coaches too. Coaches like to reach out and build relationships with them which I like,” Macy said.
Obviously both Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy and Louisville coach Jeff Walz see Macy as a priority recruit. She could move into the top 10 of the national rankings after the way she played at Nike Nationals in Chicago.
Macy would like to add to her already impressive legacy by becoming the all-time leading rebounder in Kentucky. She has 1,097 rebounds in 111 games over the last four years along with 2,027 points.
Macy would like to reach 2,000 rebounds — something no other Kentucky high school girl has ever done and become the first female with 2,000 points and 2,000 rebounds ever in Kentucky.
The state’s all-time leading rebounder is Sherry Gish of Muhlenberg Central who had 1,978 rebounds — 881 more than Macy who averaged almost 13 rebounds per game last year. Macy has a combined 841 rebounds the last two seasons.
Before Kentucky headed to Canada to play, Antonio Reeves shared a little bit of the feedback he got from NBA personnel.
Reeves put his name into the draft but eventually withdrew and then decided to return to Kentucky for a second season after averaging 14.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game last season after transferring from Illinois State. He shot 40 percent from 3-point range and had 37 points in a win at Arkansas.
“They (NBA officials) said I bring an NBA-level shooting ability to any team,” Reeves, who had 24, 23 and 27 points in the first three games last week in the GLOBAL Jam and shot 60 percent from the field, said. “The way that I space the floor, guys have to get out on me. I could play-make a little bit, put the ball on the floor.”
However, NBA officials also indicated Reeves could benefit from another year of college basketball.
“They want to see more of that (playmaking, putting the ball on the floor). That is the type of stuff they told me,” he said.
Reeves said he’s having “fun” and called his talented freshmen teammates “playful” in a complimentary way.
“It’s definitely been fun, just being with them all the time and just being able to vibe with them,” Reeves said.
Having freshmen guard DJ Wagner, Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham capable of doing so many things has also taken pressure off Reeves.
“I don’t have to try and make a play every time. I got guards that can facilitate already, so I’m not worried about that at all. I’m just worried about trying to win a game and trying to win a national championship. That’s my main focus,” Reeves said.
ESPN/SEC Network college football analyst Cole Cubelic not only thinks Kentucky’s football team is often underrated but also believes the atmosphere at Kroger Field does not get the respect it deserves.
On his weekly podcast, “The Cube Show,” he called Kroger Field the “most underrated place” to play in the Southeastern Conference.
“Very rarely do I hear people talk about Kroger Field being a tough place to go play,” Cubelic, a former college offensive lineman, said. “Now I know just that in general probably brings it down a notch. Like, you’re named after a grocery store. It is what it is in today’s business of collegiate athletics. Fine.
“Don’t love that it’s turf, even though they’re getting new turf. Don’t love that. But they (UK fans) show up, and they stay, and they get louder than you think for 61,000 people. There is not a portion around the field that’s very far removed. So the access to be able to talk trash and be loud is pretty good.”
Cubelic said the rowdy environment combined with UK’s improved play makes Kroger Field a difficult environment for opposing teams.
“I’m going to tell you, the end of the third quarter when Waka Flocka gets going? It is a party in there at that point. They get that thing jamming and they get that thing lit up. I feel like everybody is having fun when you go to a game there,” he said.
“It’s a very cool environment. I think it’s vastly underrated because I’ve been to a lot of games and no one ever talks about it. No one ever talks about going to play there. And that weather? It gets chilly quick, a lot chillier than a lot of other SEC towns. So that can play into it as well.”
Kentucky’s basketball fan base is well known nationally not only by media members but also by many athletes and opposing fan bases.
Recent West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell made that clear even before he got to feel the love from Big Blue Nation fans in Toronto last week.
“Before getting here, obviously I knew that Big Blue Nation was one of a kind. That’s for sure,” Mitchell said at his first UK press conference. “But since being a part of it, it has stepped up to a whole other level.”
Mitchell has not been overwhelmed by the UK support but he has been impressed.
“You can see the love and the passion that everybody in Lexington, whether it be online or in person, that they carry,” Mitchell said. “You see that UK shirt everywhere you go and I think it is an amazing opportunity to even be a part of something like that.
“People who care this much about the game and are willing to support new people, support young dudes, old dudes — whoever it is — they got that jersey on, they’re supporting them. I just think that’s amazing.”
Marques Cox made 33 straight starts at Northern Illinois before an injury in a loss at Kentucky last year ended his streak. But he still has over 2,000 snaps at left tackles and gave up just three sacks in 1,052 pass plays at Northern Illinois.
Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen said the 6-6, 310-pound Cox earned immediate respect from UK teammates with his actions after his transfer to UK in January.
“He walks into the building with a big smile on his face. He is high-fiving and talking to everybody. You want people like that. That attitude is infectious,” Coen said. “And by the way, he’s a house.
“He’s a great kid and a big, big kid. We could not be more thrilled to have him part of the program and think he’s going to do some great things for our offense.”
Indiana guard Joey Hart is a top 300 prospect but by far the lowest rated player in Kentucky’s freshman class. He was a late signee but says he was told he would get a fair chance to compete for playing time.
“There’s not a defined lineup yet, obviously, for the team. And everybody wants to be in the starting lineup,” Hart said before UK played in Canada. “Everybody wants to have a role. But you gotta compete for it.
“And coach Cal said nothing’s promised. Nobody is promised like a starting spot or anything like that, so everybody’s working to get a role.”
Kentucky has four freshmen ranked in the top 15 in the 2023 recruiting class and two others ranked well above Hart.
“I mean we get better every day, I think. Practices are really competitive and just a lot of talent on the team,” Hart said.
Hart played sparingly in UK’s games in Toronto and did not play at all in the opening win over Germany.
Quote of the Week: “I think it’s unbelievable that this many people showed up in Toronto. It just shows that the Big Blue Nation is one of a kind. You got people everywhere, and they support us no matter what. Even walking in the gym, you felt the love immediately,” UK forward Tre Mitchell on the fan support in Toronto.
Quote of the Week 2: “I will remind you that I also had ‘Ditch Rich’ bumper stickers and t-shirts sold in the parking lots at football games at both places. Before the success happened, there was a hard road to climb. There is humility that does come along with the honor of having such a special thing done in our game,” former UK head football coach Rich Brooks on having playing surfaces at UK and Oregon named for him.
Quote of the Week 3: “You’ve just got to work hard and get through it. You’ve got to stack the days. You’re going to have good days. You’re going to have bad days. You just can’t ever be low. You’ve got to have high mental, and that’s what Cal works on and I really appreciate him for that because it gets you ready for the next level,” freshman Jordan Burks on UK’s practices before GLOBAL Jam.