Three UK Recruits Named McDonald's All-Americans

LEXINGTON, Ky. – All three University of Kentucky women’s basketball incoming freshmen have been named 2026 McDonald’s All-Americans, including Maddyn Greenway, Emily McDonald and Savvy Swords.

Just 24 high school players were chosen, while Kentucky and Texas are the lone programs to have as many as three signees selected to the esteemed list.

The annual McDonald’s All-American Game will take place at the Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. ET.

Greenway, McDonald and Swords are the program’s 10th, 11th and 12th incoming freshmen in the last 16 seasons to be named McDonald’s All-Americans. Those student-athletes are as follows:

Jennifer O’Neill (2010)

Bria Goss (2011)

Janee Thompson (2012)

Makayla Epps (2013)

Linnae Harper (2013)

Alyssa Rice (2014)

Taylor Murray (2015)

Treasure Hunt (2020)

Kaelyn Carroll (2025)

Maddyn Greenway (2026)

Emily McDonald (2026)

Savvy Swords (2026)

Greenway was named to the West Roster, while McDonald and Swords are on the East Roster.

Maddyn Greenway

5-8 | Guard | Wayzata, Minn. | Providence Academy

Maddyn Greenway, a 5-8 guard from Wayzata, Minnesota, who is ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2026, according to ESPN, has played for Providence Academy since she was in seventh grade, helping the Lions to one state runner-up finish (2021) and four straight state championships (2022-25).

She just eclipsed 5,000 career points last Friday.

She has been named an All-State, All-Conference and All-Tournament team selection, as well as Conference Player of the Year, each year since she was in seventh grade, but it was her most recent year that the honors piled up.

In her junior season in 2024-25, in addition to the previous accolades, Greenway also added Minnesota Star Tribune Player of the Year, Minnesota MaxPreps Player of the Year and Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year to her already lengthy bio. That season, she averaged 32.8 points per game, 7.5 re-bounds per game, 8.7 assists per game and 4.9 steals per game, totaling 1,050 points, 232 rebounds, 280 assists and 160 steals as a junior in 2024-25.

She was critical in helping Providence earn a 32-0 record and its fourth straight state title.

Outside of girls’ high school basketball, Greenway also played for North Tartan EYBL in Summer 2024 and for Team USA in Summer 2025. With Team USA, she won a gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Czech Republic. In six games there, she averaged 3.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg and 4.5 apg in less than 15 minutes per game en route to guiding United States to a 7-0 overall record.

In addition to girls’ basketball, the multi-sport student-athlete also is a four-time All-State, All-Conference and All-Tournament selection in girls’ soccer. She set the all-time Minnesota career goals record (218) and the all-time Minnesota single-season goals record (62) last season.

Greenway was named Minnesota Miss Soccer in 2025 after helping the Lions to back-to-back state titles in 2024 and 2025.

Emily McDonald

6-0 | Guard | Buffalo, N.Y. | Long Island Lutheran

Emily McDonald, a Buffalo, New York, native, is ranked No. 23, according to ESPN, in the Class of 2026. She played her high school freshman and sophomore seasons at St. Mary’s of Lancaster in Buffalo, New York, where she was named a two-time All-Catholic First Team pick, two-time All-Western New York pick, two-time All-State pick and received her team’s most valuable player honor in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

McDonald then played last season and this season at Long Island Lutheran in Brookville, New York, alongside fellow signee Savvy Swords. Last season as a junior, she averaged 12.7 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game, 2.1 steals per game and 1.4 blocks per game en route to helping her team to as high as a No. 4 ranking in the nation in 2024-25.

That same year for the Crusaders, McDonald earned several individual accolades, including Hoop Hall Most Valuable Player, Bluestar Showcase Most Valuable Player and the Coaches Award.

She is in her senior season there, which tipped off in early December.

Beyond high school girls’ basketball, she also played for Team Northeast on the Select Events Power 24 Circuit. Her team was one of four No. 1 seeds on the circuit, and McDonald also earned All-Power 24 Third Team honors. Her summer with Team Northeast helped the versatile guard jump from No. 39 to No. 23 on the ESPN rankings for the Class of 2026.

Savvy Swords

6-1 | Forward |Sudbury, Ontario, Canada | Long Island Lutheran

Savvy Swords, a Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, native, is ranked No. 19 in the Class of 2026, according to ESPN. She is in her fourth and final season at Long Island Lutheran, which tipped off in early December.

Despite playing just five games as a junior last season, she averaged 16.0 ppg, 13.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 3.0 spg, while shooting 60.0 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from the arc and 90.0 percent from the stripe, before sustaining an injury in 2024.

In just her short time playing her junior season at long Island Lutheran, Swords had already hauled in the 2024 Art Turner Classic Most Valuable Player award and the 2024 Lolani Classic MVP honor.

Outside of high school girls’ basketball, she also played for Kia Nurse Elite, Canada’s only Nike Girls’ EYBL affiliate team. In the U17 division in 2024, she was a top 10 scorer and rebounder, and also was named to the All-EYBL Second Team.

Swords also was a team captain on her Team Canada U16 and U17 teams. In 2023, she helped Team Canada to a FIBA U16 Americup silver finish, while being named to the All-Star Second Team in the process, and in 2024, she aided Team Canada to a U17 World Cup silver finish, where she again was named to the All-Star High School Second Team.

The incoming forward earned invitations to the Canadian Senior Women’s National Team training camps in both 2024 and 2025.