2016-17 Women's Basketball Roster
Leonard, Kennedy
Jersey Number 14
Kennedy Leonard
- Position:
- Guard
- Height:
- 5-8
- Class:
- Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Southlake, Texas
- High School:
- Carroll
Bio
- 2015-16 CU Female Athlete of the Week (Jan. 3, Feb. 22, March 7)
- 2015-16 Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (Feb. 22)
- 2015-16 honorable mention All-Pac-12 (coaches)
- 2015-16 Pac-12 All-Freshman (coaches, media)
- 2015-16 CU’s RISE Award (co-winner)
- 2016 Great Britain U-20 National Team
- 2016-17 CU Female Athlete of the Week (Dec. 12, Dec. 19, March 21)
- 2016-17 Hero Sports Division I HERO of the Week (Dec. 16)
- 2016-17 CU’s Team MVP
- 2016-17 Academic All-Pac-12 honorable mention
- 2016-17 first-team All-Pac-12 (coaches, media)
- 2017-18 Lieberman Award Watch List
- 2017-18 Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic MVP
- 2017-18 CU Female Athlete of the Week (Nov. 29)
- 2017-18 CU’s Team MVP
- 2017-18 Academic All-Pac-12 honorable mention
- 2017-18 honorable mention Pac-12 All-Defensive Team
- 2017-18 first-team All-Pac-12 (coaches, media)
- 2018-19 Lieberman Award Watch Lis
- 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award Candidate
- 2018 Nevada Nugget Classic MVp
- 2018-19 Academic All-Pac-12 honorable mention
2018-19 (Senior): Leonard had her 100 consecutive starts streak come to an end midway through the season, missing a 10-game stretch in Pac-12 play. The Buffs went 10-4 with prior to Leonard’s injury. She started 17 of the 18 games she played, averaging 12.6 minutes per game. She led the Buffs with 12.6 points, 2.7 steals and a school-record 6.8 assists per game. She tied a career-high with 13 assists at Miami (Fla.) (12/2). She netted a season-high 30 points to go with four assists in CU’s opening-nigh win over Northern Colorado. Averaged 13.0 points and 7.5 assists per game on her way to MVP honors at the Nevada Nugget Classic. She had 14 games with five or more assists, including three with 10 or better. Finished 13th in the Pac-12 with 135 total assists. She scored in double figures in 10 games and totaled 252 points, 135 assists and 92 rebounds on the season.
2017-18 (Junior): Leonard earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors for the second straight season from both the coaches and the media, averaging 14.7 points, 6.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals, while starting all 31 games at point guard. She broke CU’s single-season record with 200 assists on the year, eclipsing her own record for her sophomore season. She also totaled 457 points, 109 rebounds and 61 steals and finished with career bests for field goal percentage (.398) and free throw percentage (.767). Leonard ranked third in the Pac-12 in assists, fourth in steals and free throws made and attempted, eighth in free throw percentage and minutes played, 11th in scoring and 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.77). Her assists per game were 17th-best in the nation. She scored in double figures 25 times and had four games with 10 or more assists, finishing with three double-doubles. Leonard buried four 3-pointers and scored 24 points with seven assists, six rebounds and four steals in an overtime loss at North Carolina on Nov. 12. She had 26 points and eight assists in a win over George Mason on Nov. 25, the championship game of the Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic to earn her MVP honors for the tournament. In that game at the 4:34 mark in the first quarter, she went over 1,000 points for her career, reaching that milestone in her 69th career game to tie her for the fifth-fastest in CU history to reach 1,000 points. Leonard followed that up with her first double-double of the season, 16 points and 10 assists to go with seven rebounds in a win over North Dakota State on Nov. 29. She was also key in CU’s 70-67 win at Colorado State on Dec. 6, scoring 18 points and making 8-of-11 at the free throw line. Her second double-double came on Dec. 31 in a win over Arizona as she scored 16 points and had 10 assists and seven rebounds, shooting 6-of-9 from the floor, including four 3-pointers. Her 20-point effort on Jan. 5 at Washington State was highlighted by eight assists and 8-for-8 shooting at the free throw line. Leonard had 23 points and six assists at No. 22/25 Arizona State on Jan. 21. She tied her career high with 31 points on Feb. 1, leading CU to a wild comeback victory at Utah. She shot 12-of-24 from the floor and had eight assists, while making all five free throw attempts as she helped the Buffs overcome a 16-0 deficit to start the game with 21 points in the second half, in addition to a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers. Leonard narrowly missed a double-double with 16 points and nine assists at California on Feb. 9 and then led CU to a win over Washington on Feb. 16 with her third double-double of the year and eighth of her career with 14 points and 13 assists. She broke CU’s record for assists in a quarter (7) and a half (10) in that game with a strong performance in the first quarter. Her scoring dropped at No. 10/10 UCLA on Feb. 22, but she still managed 11 assists and seven points a six-point loss on the road. After concluding the regular season with 19 points at USC on Feb. 24, she averaged 14.0 points in two Pac-12 Tournament games.
2016-17 (Sophomore): Leonard earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors from both the coaches and the media after averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.4 steals, while starting all 33 games. She also shot 73.3 percent at the line and had season totals of 563 points (seventh-best in CU history), 100 rebounds and 80 steals (eighth-best; most ever for a sophomore). Leonard broke CU’s single-season assists record with 190 on the year, passing Ann Troyan’s previous mark of 177 from the 1979-80 season. Leonard finished the season ranked second in the Pac-12 in assists and steals, and fourth in scoring and assist/turnover ratio (1.90). She also ranked 26th in the nation in assists. She scored in double figures 26 times and had 13 games of 20 or more points. She also had two double-doubles with points and assists. She opened the season by leading the Buffs to a win at Northern Colorado with 26 points and nine assists on Nov. 11. She also had 20 points and eight assists two days later in a win over Air Force, shooting a combined 17-of-32 in those two games. Leonard led the Buffs to a win over No. 15/19 Kentucky with 14 points and 12 assists on Nov. 19. She scored a career-high 31 points, hitting 7-of-11 3-point field goals and adding seven assists in a win over Colorado State on Dec. 8. She also had 20 points, making 15-of-20 free throws, and forced six steals in a win at Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 17. Leonard wrapped up non-conference play with a record-breaking performance, scoring 29 points on Dec. 21. But it was her fourth quarter that stood out when she scored 22 points and hit seven (in nine attempts) field goals, setting school records in both categories for a single quarter. She filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and seven steals at No. 10 UCLA on Jan. 1. She led the Buffs to a win over Arizona on Jan. 6 with 20 points and nine assists and then scored 25 points two days later against No. 19 Arizona State. Leonard scored 22 points and had seven assists against No. 13/12 Stanford on Jan. 15 and 21 points and seven assists at Oregon on Jan. 20. Leonard led the Buffs to a win over Utah on Jan. 25 with 24 points and a career-high nine rebounds. She led CU to another win on Feb. 3 with 25 points and six assists, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead dramatic comeback against Washington State. She hit a key 3-pointer from nearly 30 feet as the shot clock expired with 38 seconds remaining to give the Buffs a 64-59 win at No. 24 California on Feb. 12. She had 13 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth career double-double in a win over Oregon on Feb. 19. In three games at the WNIT, Leonard scored 35 points and had 18 assists, hitting 15-of-16 free throw attempts. She had 23 points and made all five free throw attempts in a first-round win over UNLV on March 16. In the second round, she led the Buffs to an overtime win at South Dakota State with 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, making 10-of-11 free throws. She scored 15 points and three assists in the fourth quarter and overtime periods.
2015-16 (Freshman): Leonard put together one of the best freshman seasons in program history as the team’s starting point guard. She started in 29 of 30 games and was second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.1 points per game and led the Buffs with 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. She closed out her debut season ranked sixth in the Pac-12 Conference in assists, 15th in steals and 20th in scoring. In 11 games, the first-year Buffalo led the team in scoring and she led the squad in assists in 20 contests. Leonard registered two points-assists double-doubles. The first came at Kentucky (11/22) with 15 points and 10 assists and the second came against California (2/21) with 23 points and 13 assists. She became just the fifth player in Colorado history to record multiple points-assists double-doubles and is only the second player to earn a points-assists double-double while scoring more than 20 points, joining Bridget Turner (1985-89) as the only Buff to accomplish that feat. Her 13 assists in the home finale against Cal was more than the entire Bears’ team total of 11 and her single-game mark ranked fourth-most all-time in CU history. After her stellar performance, she received Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Honors. In addition, Leonard was named to the 2016 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team by both coaches and media and received honorable mention to the All-Pac-12 Team.
High School: Leonard was a 2015 graduate of Carroll Senior High School in Southlake, Texas. She led Carroll to a 26-7 record and undefeated District 7-6A season (12-0) by averaging 17.2 points, 7.5 assists, 6.4 rebounds and 3.7 steals per game as a senior. She was named the District MVP for the second straight season and claimed her fourth consecutive All-District First Team honor. Leonard was also named the 2015 Dallas Fort-Worth Star-Telegram Super Team Player of the Year. Leonard holds the Carroll school record for assists with 921 and is also in the top three in scoring, rebounds and steals for the Lady Dragons. A two-time team captain, she is a 2015 McDonald's All-American nominee and was invited to play in the Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) All-Start Game. Leonard was a four-time Dallas Morning News All-Area first team performer and also a two-time member of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and Morning News All-State teams. She was ranked as the 40th best player in the nation, and the ninth best point guard, by ProspectsNation.com. Leonard played club ball with the Cy Fair Nike Elites, compiling a 40-2 record as the starting point guard and helping that program to a No. 1 ranking and the Nike National Championship in 2013.
Academics: Leonard is majoring in communication with minors in business and leadership. She earned Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention as a sophomore and junior.
Personal: Born on Sept. 27, 1996 in Hackensack, N.J., she is the daughter of Kyle and Lyndsey Leonard. She has two older sisters, Taylor, who is a lawyer, and MacKenzie, who is also a lawyer. Her parents are Colorado State graduates, with her mom, a native of Scotland, a swimmer for the Rams. She enjoys fishing, painting and adventuring.
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