LEXINGTON, Ky. — All five players who powered the University of Kentucky women's golf team through its dramatic NCAA postseason run have announced their return for the 2026-27 season, head coach Golda Borst announced Tuesday.

The lineup of three sophomores in C.A. Carter, Karlie Campbell and Raleygh Simpson and two juniors in Cathryn Brown and Samantha Paradise will return as upperclassmen next year after an improbable championship run. The group pulled off a dramatic comeback in Tallahassee, overcoming a 10-shot deficit to advance from the NCAA Regional before finishing ahead of their seed ranking at the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California.

Most impressively, four of the five players had never competed at a regional tournament before this season, let alone a national championship. Moreover, the specific five-person lineup had never competed together before the NCAA Regional in May.

Carter, Campbell, Simpson and Brown all improved their stroke averages from the previous season, led the team in at least one tournament, recorded career-best 18-hole rounds and shot at least 4-under in at least one round. Each earned multiple top-10 individual finishes.

The team collected one tournament title, six top-three finishes and three individual tournament victories while posting a 291.1 stroke average, the fourth-best in program history. The team concluded the NCAA Championship, finishing two spots ahead of its seed ranking.

Borst, who is in her 16th season at Kentucky, has guided the program to 10 NCAA Regional appearances and an NCAA Championship Finals berth in 2021, the program's first since 1992. The return of this young but experienced core positions Kentucky to build on its recent success in the coming season.