Ajsa Sivka was the 10th pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft
Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks and assistant coach Radville Autukaite have been working several months on a recruiting gem that no one was talking about to bolster UK’s 2026-27 roster.
It was officially announced Wednesday that 6-foot-4 guard Ajsa Sivka of Slovenia had signed with Kentucky. The 20-year-old Sivka was the 10th pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky but stayed in Europe to play for the Slovenia National Team in the 2025 FIBA Women’s European Basketball Championship.
“I am delighted to welcome Ajša to our program,” Brooks said in a release from UK. “Her combination of size and skill will fit into our system seamlessly. Ajša is a tremendous shooter, scorer, and playmaker from the wing position and she will add experience to our team.”
In three games at the EuroBasket Women’s Championship last year, she averaged 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 50 percent from the field. Her best game was against Italy when she had 16 points and was 4-for-4 from 3-point range, two rebounds and one assist.
The new UK signee wanted to finish her time with the national team rather than jump to the WNBA after she was drafted.
Sivka signed with Tarbes Gespe Bigorre of the Ligue Féminine de Basketball (LFB) for the 2024–25 season and helped them reach the French League final and Cup semifinals. In 28 league games she averaged 6.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. She also played eight games in the 2024–25 EuroCup averaging 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.
Sivka signed with Joventut Badalona of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto — the highest level of women’s competition in Spain — for the 2025–26 season and her season ended last month. She averaged 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per outing and shot 40 percent overall and 33.8 percent from 3.
One reason she picked Kentucky was Brooks’ reputation for developing guards and several sources close to the team said she believes Brooks can get her ready to play in the WNBA — where Chicago will keep her rights until she finishes playing in college.
“My passing ability is just part of my game and I really enjoy it. It just shows that I am not a selfish player. I really like to have the flow in the game,” Sivka said after her draft selection in 2025.
Her father attended the draft with her and both were emotional after her selection.
“I started playing because of him. He was always my idol. It means a lot to me that he was here. I am just grateful,” she said at the draft.
Sivka has been an international star for several years. She was named the Most Valuable Player and to the All-Star Five Team in the 2023 FIBA U18 Women’s European Basketball Championship. She played with Tarbes Gespe Bigorre of the Ligue Féminine de Basketball in 2024–25, the top women’s professional basketball league in France. She began her professional career with Beretta Famila Schio of the Lega Basket Femminile in 2023-24, also the premier women’s basketball league in Italy.
Sivka also was named to the World Select Team at the 2024 Nike Hoop Summit where the selection news release listed her as one of the top two players on the team. Also on that team was Canada’s Syla Swords, the older sister of UK freshman Savvy Swords
The new UK signee played for Slovenia at the 2022 FIBA Under-17 Women’s Basketball World Cup where and averaged 11.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in seven games.
She was selected to represent Slovenia at the EuroBasket Women 2023 where she was the youngest player at the event. During the tournament she averaged eight points, six rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in three games.
Brooks and his staff have been working for several weeks with UK’s compliance officials, the NCAA and Sivka’s current team about her collegiate eligibility. How many years of eligibility she will have remains to be determined by the NCAA.