It’s not every day you see a sitting U.S. governor walk into a high school gym and commission a student as a state Colonel. Well, that’s exactly how things played out on Thursday for Sacred Heart Academy star ZaKiyah Johnson.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear made a special visit to honour the basketball phenom, declaring her a Kentucky Colonel in recognition of her remarkable achievements on and off the court.
As announced in a post on Sacred Heart Academy’s official Instagram page, Beshear paid a special visit to the school on Thursday, more specifically, to the Valkyries basketball team.
The post featured Johnson proudly holding her commissioning certificate alongside the Governor. It also included eight other photos capturing memorable moments from the day, including the Governor’s meeting with the team and coach Donna Moir, posing beside the school’s state championship trophies, and so on.
The post’s caption read:
“So this happened today! KY Governor Andy Beshear visited SHA to honor and commission our ZaKiyah Johnson as a Kentucky Colonel, saying ‘she brought pride to our state!’ We couldn’t agree more. Z accepted the honor with her teammates, Coach Donna Moir, Dr. Adams, Dr. McNay, Ms. Wentzel and of course, her mom. Governor Beshear asked her to always remember where she came from and we know she will.”
Sacred Hearts Academy won the State Championship and finished first in the Kentucky Section District 27 Basketball league with an impressive 35-3 record. Johnson’s performance was especially crucial to the team’s success, as she averaged 21.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game.
Following a successful high school career, she is heading to the LSU Tigers in the Southeastern Conference next season. She will be joined by other highly rated prospects, including Grace Knox, Divine Bourrage and Bella Hines.
Revisiting Zakiyah Johnson’s high school basketball career
Five-star prospect ZaKiyah Johnson wrapped up her high school basketball journey as the No. 10-ranked player in the nation. The guard began and ended her career with the Sacred Heart Academy Valkyries.
Johnson’s first year with the Valkyries resulted in a state championship, first place in the Kentucky Section District 27 Basketball League, and a 36-3 overall record. She finished the season averaging 17.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
As a sophomore, she averaged 22.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game. It was a repeat of the previous year’s dominance, capturing the state championship, the District 27 title, and finishing the season with an identical 36-3 record.
The Valkyries won it all the next season, Johnson’s junior year. She averaged 18.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game, leading the team to a 31-7 record.
In terms of personal accolades, Johnson is a four-time Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year, a four-time KHSAA State Championship MVP, a Kentucky Miss Basketball winner and a McDonald’s All-American.
There’s certainly a strong case to be made for ZaKiyah Johnson having one of the most successful high school careers in the history of the sport.
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Edited by Krutik Jain
