LuHi's Savvy Swords commits to Kentucky

It’s been far from a perfect 2025 for Long Island Lutheran 6-foot-2 rising senior wing Savvy Swords, but the top-20 nationally ranked Class of 2026 girls basketball player was able to celebrate her college decision in the midst of it.

Swords announced her commitment to play at Kentucky on Saturday.

Swords missed the majority of her junior season at LuHi with a torn ACL suffered in December. She averaged 9.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game as a sophomore despite sharing a lineup with three McDonald’s All-Americans, one being her older sister, Syla.

Kentucky had one of the most substantial one-year turnarounds in women’s basketball last year, going from 12-20 to 23-8 and making the second round of the NCAA Tournament under first-year head coach Kenny Brooks. Swords said Brooks, his staff and the direction of the program were key to her commitment. Swords, ranked No. 18 in the Class of 2026 by ESPN, is the second top-20 recruit to sign with Kentucky, along with Maddyn Greenway, a 5-8 point guard from Minnesota.

“They care about who you are beyond just on the basketball court, so that was really appealing,” Swords told Newsday. “And just what they are starting to build. With Maddyn, I’m really excited to play with her, and just all the different pieces. It’s just really exciting and something I wanted to be a part of.”

Swords had offers from nearly every school in the nation, including Michigan, where Syla plays, before choosing to forge her own journey at Kentucky.

“It would have been great to play with her in college, but I wanted to kind of make my own path,” Swords said. “And Coach Brooks is such an amazing coach, I felt like I needed to get coached by that.”

The rising senior comes from a basketball family. Her father, Shawn Swords, was an Olympian for Team Canada and played professionally overseas. He’s currently the associate head coach of the Long Island Nets, the Brooklyn Nets’ G League affiliate.

“It’s amazing to see her achieve some of her goals,” Shawn said. “She has put a lot of time in to improve and help her teams win.”

Swords, five months removed from ACL surgery, is rehabbing the injury. She thinks she’ll be back on the court in October or November and ready to play when LuHi begins its season in December.

“I was going to come back and enjoy every minute regardless of if I decided [a college] or not, just from being away from it for so long,” Swords said. “But definitely not having the pressure of having to decide where to go and being all set is a weight off my shoulders for sure.”