WKU Standout Josie Gilvin Transfers to Kentucky

Josie Gilvin (UK Athletics Photo)

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women's basketball program inked a 6-foot, all-conference and all-defensive team guard, Josie Gilvin, to its incoming class, it was anounced Tuesday. Gilvin, who played three years at Western Kentucky, will join the program as a senior in 2025-26. 

“I’m excited to welcome Josie to our Wildcat family,” UK coach Kenny Brooks said. “She will be a great addition, and with her ability to defend and shoot the three effectively, she will help our team compete for an SEC Championship. Josie has an infectious personality that will resonate in our locker room and throughout BBN!” 

Josie Gilvin 

6-0 | Guard | Louisville, Ky. | Sacred Heart 

Josie Gilvin, a 6-0 guard from Louisville, Kentucky, spent the last three seasons at Western Kentucky. She is coming off her most productive season yet, playing and starting all 32 games for the Hilltoppers in 2024-25. During the season, she averaged 13.1 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, 2.3 assists per game and 2.6 steals per game. She shot 53.2 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from the arc on 50 made 3s and 79.6 percent from the line. 

Last season, she helped the Hilltoppers to a 23-9 record, including a 13-5 mark in Conference USA, and a trip to the CUSA Championship Semifinals. Meanwhile, she was named to the 2025 All-CUSA Second Team and the 2025 CUSA All-Defensive Team. 

Gilvin concluded the season with nine straight games scoring in double digits, a stretch of games that also included six double-doubles on points and rebounds. Overall, on the season, she put up 10+ points 20 times and 20+ points six times. Moreover, she knocked down multiple 3s in 16 of her 32 games in 2024-25.  

She set her career high in almost every category last season, including 31 points, 13 field goals and five 3s at Liberty, 14 rebounds vs. Middle Tennessee and nine assists and 11 steals vs. FIU. 

Prior to her time at Western Kentucky, the Louisville, Kentucky, native played four years at Sacred Heart, where she was named to the All-State First Team as a junior (2021) and a senior (2022). She also was named the 7th Region Player of the Year and was a Kentucky Miss Basketball nominee as a senior.  

Gilvin led Sacred Heart to back-to-back State Championships as a junior and a senior. During the tournament as a senior in 2022, she averaged 8.3 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game and a tournament-lead 5.0 assists per game and 3.0 steals per game. Also, during the tournament as a junior in 2021, her 27 steals set a Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) Tournament record.