Rhyne Howard

Classroom

Howard is pursuing a degree in studio art and design at Kentucky. She contributed to the team earning a 3.25 GPA last fall, 3.39 GPA this spring, and will continue head coach Kyra Elzy’s 100% graduation rate.

Howard has taken the initiative to work with Kim Troxall, the creative director for the Wildcats, as well. She wanted to improve her design skills learned through her studies and has been able to build a brand for herself and create her own logo.

She is also a member of Zeta Phi Beta, a historically African American sorority, and has cultivated her networking and leadership skills through the organization.

Character

Howard’s character is impeccable, as continually expressed by head coach Kyra Elzy. She leads both on and off the court and has made it her mission to make her peers better players and people.

Howard is a member of Kentucky’s Leadership Group and has been a voice of influence and encouragement in the locker room, always trying to help her teammates get better and help them through tough times. She has gracefully handled her increasing fame from her stardom, still acting as a role model for many across the country. In each clinic that Howard attends, she helps her fans improve their games while building them up - and always with a smile on her face.

Community

Howard has been the consummate leader in her time at Kentucky. She is passionate about giving back and is never afraid to speak up for what she believes in.

She organized a Unity Fair and Social Justice March on campus last year and was joined by dozens of student-athletes and hundreds of fellow community members. It was solely organized by the team and spearheaded by Howard, aimed to bring awareness to police brutality, inform their peers on how these issues affect the black community, encourage their peers to exercise their right to vote, demand justice for injustices, provide mental health information and resources, and spread love through tough times.

Howard also uses her platform to spread messages of love, tolerance, acceptance, and empowerment of the black-student athlete community. She takes her position as a role model very seriously - always presenting herself in a respectful manner on social media.

Competition

In just three seasons, Howard has cemented her legacy as one of the best players to ever suit up for Kentucky. She sits seventh all-time in points scored at the program with 1,670 - and is only 22 points behind sixth. Howard became the second-fastest Wildcat to reach the 1,000 point mark when she did so during her sophomore season. She also sits second in school history in career scoring average (19.9), third in career three-pointers made (214), third in career three-point field-goal percentage (38.1), and eighth in steals per game (2.301).

Howard was a consensus first team All-American last year after averaging 20.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She helped lead the Wildcats to the second round of the NCAA tournament, which was Coach Elzy’s first as a head coach. Howard has also been tabbed as the SEC Player of the Year for the last two seasons and was named the 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year. She finished second in the nation in points per game (23.4) as a sophomore.

Howard has also had tremendous success on the international level. She has won three gold medals with Team USA, playing for their U18, U19, and U21 teams. She was named the Team USA MVP at the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup Tournament in Puerto Rico during June of 2021.

Entering her fourth season with the Wildcats, Howard has been tabbed to the Wade Trophy, Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, and Cheryl Miller Award Watch Lists and was named the preseason SEC Player of the Year. She was also selected as a preseason All-American by multiple media outlets.