Kentucky has officially signed its first recruit of the early signing period — 2026 four-star guard Emily McDonald.
She is high school teammates with fellow Kentucky commit, Savvy Swords (who is also expected to sign during the early signing period), at Long Island Lutheran (NY). McDonald is the No. 36 player in the 2026 class in the Rivals Industry Rankings and the No. 7 combo guard in the class.
McDonald originally committed to Kentucky over South Carolina, TCU, Maryland and Michigan State, North Carolina and Virginia Tech, among others, though sources indicated KSR during her recruitment that it really ended up being a two-horse race between the Cats and Gamecocks.