'It just felt right.' HSE's Holman follows in mother's footsteps to Oregon

Kennedy 'KK' Holman has been wearing the No. 11 since she first started playing basketball. It's the same number her mom, Lisa Holman (née Bowyer), wore during her time at Oregon (1995-99), where she made a name for herself as an elite defender and is among the program's all-time assist leaders.

"It goes deep for us," Lisa said Friday morning, adding the two even got tattoos with the number 11 over the summer.

Lisa inspired KK's love for basketball and helped coach the nationally ranked point guard through high school as an assistant at Hamilton Southeastern.

The Australia native always thought it would be "cool" if her daughter followed in her footsteps, but admittedly never thought it would happen.

But then the Ducks offered the 5-foot-8 guard a scholarship a few weeks before the start of her junior season. She ultimately chose Florida over her mom's alma mater, but when Kelly Rae Finley was fired in late March, KK decided to reopen her recruitment.

A few weeks and a visit to Eugene later, KK Holman announced she would be following in her mom's footsteps and committing to the Oregon Ducks.

"It's always been a dream of mine to play at Oregon," said Holman, who's ranked 53rd nationally by ESPN. "(My mom) is the reason I play basketball and being able to carry on her legacy at Oregon means a lot to me."

"I couldn't be any more proud of her," Lisa added. "They took a picture of her in front of my picture in the Oregon gym … and that's when it really sank in. The guy who took the picture of me in 1999 is the same photographer who did Kennedy's photoshoot. That's when I was kind of like, 'Wow, this is really cool.'" 

Holman took a different approach to her second time through the recruiting process. After taking a couple weeks to process the developments at Florida, she took her parents' advice and requested a release from her National Letter of Intent. 

There were no big public announcements, nor calls to dozens upon dozens of coaches letting them know she was back on the market.

Holman knew what she wanted this time around and focused her search on a limited list of schools.

She traveled to Sacramento, Calif. for UCLA's Sweet 16 game vs. Minnesota, then made her way to Oregon for her first and only visit.

Lisa described touring campus with her daughter as a "surreal" experience.

"Midway through the visit, I could tell KK was feeling like it was home," she said. "She was acting like herself, carefree, and connecting with the coaches. It was very similar to the feeling I had when we were at Florida, so I had (an inkling), but didn't want to get too excited about it."

Added KK: "It just felt right."

"The coaches made me feel really welcome and at home," she continued. "I'm a really big connection person and I felt a connection with them (immediately), so that was a big part, as well. Just having my mom there, showing me around — it felt like home right away." 

Oregon offered Holman in October 2024, pulling her out of the mental funk she had fallen into. The then-junior had cracked ESPN's national rankings over the summer, but was struggling with confidence issues as she compared herself to others.

“I usually don't do that, but over those past months, it was really starting to get to me," Holman said at the time. Then she received an unexpected phone call — and offer — from the Ducks and things began turning around. "It really caught me by surprise," Holman later added. "It's such a special thing."

"That was the only school where she cried after getting the offer," Lisa recalled Friday morning. "I think it really shows how much it meant to her as well."

This momma is on cloud nine. I always thought it would be cool if @KKennedyHolman played for Oregon, but I never thought it would actually happen. Seeing her in that Kelly green uniform for the first time was surreal. 2026 vs 2015, full circle moment!@OregonWBBhttps://t.co/b02QNTsOVa

— Lisa Holman (@LisaMHolman11) April 3, 2026

Holman dazzled for the semistate runner-up Royals as a junior, then took her game to another level entirely as a senior. 

Already known for her electrifying passing capabilities, defensive ferocity and blazing speed, Holman arrived significantly stronger in 2025-26 and furthered her development as a scorer, seamlessly stepping in as the team's go-to on both ends of the floor.

An Indiana All-Star and IndyStar ALL-USA Super Team honoree, Holman was the catalyst for HSE, setting career-highs across the board with 17.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. She missed a few games due to a knee injury around the new year, but quickly rediscovered her stride in early January, leading HSE to a second consecutive sectional championship.

"Her confidence has definitely grown," Lisa said of KK, who totaled 1,168 points, a school-record 544 rebounds, a school-record 477 assists, 207 steals and 82 blocks in four seasons. "She's been working on her game so hard and it's translated to her skills on the floor. Maturity, when she decided when she wanted to keep her recruitment quiet, she didn't want to get overwhelmed with everything. I'm just really excited for her to get to the next level and take her game to another level."

Holman still has a few more games left in her high school career. She'll participate in the Indiana All-Star games against the Indiana Juniors (June 3) and Kentucky All-Stars (June 5-6). 

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen. Get IndyStar's high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Hamilton Southeastern's KK Holman commits to Oregon after coaching change