Drakeford Decides On Thomas More

Samuel Warren
Herald Staff
[email protected]

Just two to three months, give or take a week, is all that Mercer County Lady Titan basketball starlet Anna Kate Drakeford lacks in being a part of the high school basketball program for seven straight years. Drakeford began her career with Mercer County basketball in the summer of 2017 while she was still in the seventh grade. Her earliest memories while wearing a Lady Titan uniform were playing alongside the 2017-18, 36-3 state championship team. Drakeford’s breakout season came during COVID. During the 2020-21 campaign, Drakeford averaged 13.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while helping the Lady Titans six game win streak in March and an appearance in the 12th Region title game. Drakeford’s life would be changed during Mercer’s matchup with Southwestern though when she tore her ACL in the second quarter of what ended a 62-56 loss for the Lady Titans. The severity of the injury would frighten many athletes, but Drakeford attacked her recovery and developed an attitude of determination that made her into the player she is today.

Drakeford exercised her extra year made available by the KHSAA because of COVID, and the extra time allowed her to take her time in recovery and make certain she was able to hit the court running. Her injury kept her from playing significant minutes every season of her career, but nonetheless, her talent, dedication and impact in the locker room has likely outlasted any player in the storied program’s history.

“All I wanted to do was get back on the court to help my team. I knew it would be difficult to come back and be as strong of a player as I was before my injury, so I think that was my main motivation into becoming the player I am today,” said Drakeford.

Just recently, Drakeford eclipsed 1,500 career points with her 34 point performance against Letcher County Central in the Central Bank Jim Rose Classic at the Lexington Christian Academy on Saturday, Dec. 16. Two days later, during the Dec. 18 matchup with Washington County, Drakeford eclipsed 500 rebounds.

Drakeford’s 1,568 points and 501 rebounds over 157 games is well beyond enough to declare her one of the many great athletes to wear a Lady Titan uniform. On Wednesday, Dec. 13, Drakeford announced, via X (formerly Twitter), her intentions to continue her student-athlete career into the college level as a Thomas More Saint.

“She understands the game so well, she knows how to put herself and others in a position to score. Her tenacity and grit on the court makes her a true competitor and her elite skill only elevates her that much more,” said Lady Titan Head Coach Hayley Spivey.

Thomas More is a relatively small, private Catholic college located in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. It serves just under 2,000 full and part-time students and if you aren’t a fan of NCAA Division-III or NAIA basketball, you may not be familiar with them, but they pride themselves in being the winningest women’s basketball program of any college in the state over the last four seasons. In 2018-19 the Saints won an NCAA Div. III title without losing a single game (33-0). They spent the 2019-20 season adjusting to the NAIA but it took only two seasons to climb back on top. From 2020-21 to 2022-23 the Saints earned three consecutive NAIA national championship berths, claimed the title in 2021-22 and tallied a 92-10 overall record.

“I wanted a program that wanted to win,” said Drakeford.

Apart from their historically winning ways, Thomas More plays an offensive style that allows Drakeford to continue playing the sport she loves in a way that will allow her to thrive.

“I would say the strongest aspect of my game is playing hard and getting to the rim while also getting my teammates open looks to score,” said Drakeford. Head coach of the Saints, Jeff Hans, expressed a similar sentiment to Drakeford when she visited campus. “The coaches at Thomas More told me they liked how well I could get to the rim and how hard I played on both ends of the ball. The coaches and team made me feel at home from the first time I walked onto campus and maintained a strong relationship with me throughout the recruitment process and my commitment.”

Mercer currently has a 5-3 record and are 2-1 in Region 12 play. The Lady Titans still have an uphill battle brought on by so much young talent who are still developing game by game, but regardless, Drakeford has high expectations for her team for the remainder of the season and she expects herself and her teammates to grow from each game. It’s not unusual of late for a Lady Titan team to play their best basketball in the second half of the season. Last season, Mercer began the season 4-10 before winning 17 of their final 20 games and claiming their first 12th Region title since 2017-18.

Drakeford and the Lady Titans will be back in action on Thursday, Dec. 28 when they face Scott High School at Garrard County. Fans’ next opportunity to see the Lady Titans play in Harrodsburg won’t come for quite a while; Mercer is scheduled to face East Jessamine in Harrodsburg on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 6 p.m.