Kentucky WBB star center Clara Strack officially announces her return

It’s officially official: Clara Strack is sticking around for a third season in Lexington.

Kentucky women’s basketball head coach Kenny Brooks said after the Wildcats’ season-ending loss to Texas in the NCAA Tournament that Strack planned to come back for her senior campaign in 2026-27, but it’s always nice to hear it from the player herself. Strack made sure there was no doubt about where she intends to spend her final college season, confirming the news via her Instagram account on Friday night.

A 6-foot-5 center, Strack is coming off a junior season that saw her average 16.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.9 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. She was tabbed to the All-SEC First Team and the SEC All-Defensive Team while helping Kentucky reach its first Sweet 16 in a decade. She has Preseason All-American written all over her.

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Strack originally began her college career at Virginia Tech when Brooks was still coaching the Hokies. But she followed him to Lexington for her sophomore season in 2024-25 and has quickly developed into one of the country’s top centers. The Buffalo native enters the offseason as a projected first-round pick in next year’s WNBA Draft.

Kentucky is still in a retooling mode after losing several pieces to the WNBA and the transfer portal in recent weeks. Strack is one of four pieces from last season’s roster expected to return for 2026-27, joining Asia Boone, Dominika Paurová, and Gabby Brooks. UK is also bringing in a trio of talented freshmen guards: Maddyn Greenway (No. 9 overall), Savvy Swords (No. 10), and Emily McDonald (No. 36). Brooks has already landed a couple of portal players in UConn’s Ayanna Patterson and Alabama’s Diana Collins.

That puts next season’s roster count at nine players. Brooks has used a short bench during his first two seasons at Kentucky, but he’s likely to add a few more pieces to the puzzle through the portal.