Cavaliers Now

'Hometown Hero' Kymora Johnson Commits to Virginia Women's Basketball

Johnson, the top-ranked player in Virginia and a top 30 prospect in the nation, announced her commitment to UVA on Sunday

Matt Newton

Kymora Johnson/IG

Coach Mox strikes again. 

Amaka Agugua-Hamilton continued her massive offseason turnaround of the Virginia women's basketball program with yet another big-time recruiting victory and this one might be the most impressive yet. 

Central Virginia native Kymora Johnson, a four-star guard from St. Anne's-Belfield (STAB) in Charlottesville, announced her commitment to UVA on Sunday in front of a large crowd at the STAB basketball gym. 

Johnson is a four-star recruit and is ranked the No. 30 overall player in the country in the class of 2023 in ESPN's HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. After averaging 21.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 4.5 steals per game as a junior last season, Johnson was named the Virginia Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year. 

Johnson had offers from roughly 50 schools in hand, but ultimately decided to stay at home in Charlottesville. An official visit to UVA this weekend helped seal the deal. 

Coach Mox has now landed commitments from the top two prospects from the Commonwealth of Virginia in the class of 2023, as Kymora Johnson joins former Louisa County standout and four-star guard Olivia McGhee, who announced her commitment to the Cavaliers over Kentucky and Virginia Tech back in July. McGhee, who is rated the No. 42 overall prospect in the class of 2023 by ESPN, will play her senior season of basketball at IMG Academy in Florida.

When Johnson and McGhee join the team for the 2023-2024 season, they will play alongside another Central Virginia basketball legend in Samantha Brunelle, a Ruckersville, Virginia native who played high school basketball at William Monroe. Brunelle began her college career at Notre Dame, playing three seasons and earning her degree in South Bend before transferring to UVA last spring shortly after the hiring of Coach Mox. Brunelle is a former No. 1 overall recruit and McDonald's All-American and was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team back in 2020. With two years of eligibility remaining, Brunelle has fully embraced her homecoming at UVA, playing a key role in helping to recruit Kymora Johnson to the Cavaliers. Brunelle was in attendance at STAB on Sunday when Johnson made her announcement. 

Amaka Agugua-Hamilton has now picked up commitments from seven players since taking the reins of the Virginia women's basketball program back in March. In addition to Kymora Johnson ('23), Olivia McGhee ('23), and Samantha Brunelle (Notre Dame transfer), UVA has landed commitments from Minnesota transfer Alexia Smith, No. 72-ranked class of 2022 guard Yonta Vaughn (District Heights, MD), class of 2022 star Cady Pauley (Milan, MO), who scored 3,074 points in her high school career, and class of 2024 three-star forward Breona Hurd (Waynesville, MO). 

Without even coaching a single game, Coach Mox has profoundly changed the course of the Virginia women's basketball program with these pivotal recruiting wins and there is palpable excitement in the UVA sports community that the Cavaliers can return to their winning ways under her leadership. 

Word to the wise: get your season tickets now. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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