Elite 2022 guard Kailyn Gilbert commits to Arizona women’s basketball

The Arizona Wildcats landed a commitment from 5-foot-8 scoring machine Kailyn Gilbert on Monday, she announced on Twitter.

The Tampa native is the No. 6 guard and No. 18 prospect in the 2022 class, according to ESPN. She also considered Georgia, Louisville, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Miami.

Gilbert attends Tampa Prep, where last season she was the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 3A Player Of The Year after averaging 32.1 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 0.6 assists per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3.

She plays travel ball for Florida Girls Basketball.

“Kailyn Gilbert scored, scored, and scored some more,” wrote Steve Reynolds after a recent tournament in Texas. “She was relentless to the basket and had a few spurts where she ran off several baskets in a row. She’s a tough guard one on one, and she has the frame to take and dish out punishment. What made her extremely hard to guard was that she was a threat as soon as she crossed half court as she nailed a few deep triples as well.”

Though Gilbert is the second-highest ranked commit the Wildcats have ever had—Cate Reese was the No. 12 player in her class—she plays with a chip on her shoulder.

“I’ve been an underdog all my life,” Gilbert said via Tampa Bay Times. “When I’m on the court I want to kill whoever is in front of me. There’s a lot of stuff that I see on the internet (about people underestimating her). I want to prove them wrong.”

Gilbert is also Arizona’s first 2022 commit, though the Wildcats are in the running for several high-level prospects in that class, including...

• 5-star point guard Kiki Rice (No. 6 overall)
• 5-star forward Maya Nnaji (No. 8 overall)
• 4-star forward Grace VanSlooten (No. 16 overall)
• 4-star shooting guard KK Bransford (No. 27 overall)
• 4-star guard Carleigh Wenzel (No. 37 overall)