Raena Worley has been selected as a recipient of the inaugural 2024 Sarah Bennett Holmes 30 Under 30 award with Kentucky alumna Jocelyn Grimsley and Rhyne Howard.
The Sarah Bennett Holmes Awards were designed to honor Sarah Bennett Holmes, a distinguished former Dean of Women at the University of Kentucky who tirelessly championed the rights of women throughout her career.
The annual Sarah Bennett Holmes Award has been bestowed upon UK faculty, staff and graduate students who have achieved professional and personal success while promoting the growth and well-being of all women at the University of Kentucky and beyond.
Worley, a native of Christiansburg, is one of the most decorated and accomplished gymnasts in Kentucky history next to the legendary Jenny Hansen. A two-time AAI Award finalist and Honda Award finalist, Worley has been nothing short of impressive in her five seasons as a Wildcat. She is an eight-time All-American, four-time All-SEC honoree, SEC Community Service Team recipient and has been named to the SEC Honor Roll four times.
This season, Worley has earned four career perfect 10.0’s on the floor exercise and uneven bars. She was also named the floor Co-Champion at the 2024 SEC Gymnastics Championship last weekend.
Now a 12-time All-American, Raena Worley adds four new honors to her repertoire. In this season’s regular season awards, she has been named first team in the all-around, floor and bars and second team on the balance beam. Worley, a fifth-year senior, holds an NQS of 39.710 in the all-around, ranking seventh in the nation. She has tallied 29 all-around titles in her five seasons at UK seeing her career best of 39.775 at Illinois in 2023. Worley has been nationally ranked in the top 10 of the all-around for 12 consecutive weeks and top five for 11 consecutive weeks. She saw the highest ranking of No. 2 on Weeks 1 and 7 of the 2024 regular season.
Earning a perfect 10.0 and 13 career individual wins on the uneven bars, Worley has been named to the first team for her success on the apparatus. She possesses an NQS of 9.960 tying for fourth nationally. This season, she has been ranked in the top five on bars for 12 consecutive weeks ranking No. 1 on Weeks 1, 3, 5, and 7. She earned one perfect 10.0 on bars in 2024 (2/17). For eight consecutive weeks, Worley has held the No. 1 ranking on the floor exercise earning first team honors for the event. She holds an NQS of 9.990 earning four perfect 10.0’s on the apparatus and 26 individual wins including the Co-Champion title at this year’s Southeastern Conference Championship. Worley’s fourth All-America honor is a second team nod on beam. She has tallied 15 individual wins on the event in her career with a current NQS of 9.935. She ties for No. 16 in the nation on the event.
University of Kentucky Athletics
