Once college teammates, Tonie Morgan and Dani Carnegie are looking forward to playing against each other

If you turned on any Georgia Tech women’s basketball game last season, you would have likely seen Tonie Morgan and Dani Carnegie playing side-by-side in the Yellow Jackets’ backcourt.

Both listed as 5-foot-9 guards, they quickly formed a friendship on and off the court. As a junior veteran in the starting lineup, Morgan embraced the freshman Carnegie, who was usually among the first players off the Georgia Tech bench. Together, they combined to score 26.6 points per game — Morgan serving as the floor general (5.6 assists per game) and Carnegie the outside shooting threat (33.5 percent on 6.8 attempts per game).

They complemented each other’s game quite well. Georgia Tech went on to win 22 games (which included 15 straight victories to start the season), the program’s most since the 2016-17 season, and made a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022. Morgan was named All-ACC Second Team for the second straight season, while Carnegie received ACC Sixth Player of the Year and All-ACC Freshman Team honors.

But after the season wrapped up, other opportunities arose. They both jumped on them — Morgan transferred to Kentucky as the Wildcats’ point guard replacement for Georgia Amoore, while Carnegie stayed within the state and made the move to the Georgia Bulldogs.

After becoming close friends at Georgia Tech, they’ll face each other as opponents in the SEC in 2025-26. They even used the same word to describe each other without knowing it.

“Tonie, that’s my dog to this day,” Carnegie told KSR at SEC Media Days on Tuesday. “I was just having a conversation with her recently, a couple of days ago. But she taught me more than she thought she taught me. And as a leader last year, she grew me into the person I am today, and I have the utmost respect for her, how she works, and how she carries herself on and off the court.”

“That’s my dog. I’m excited to get to play her this season,” Morgan told KSR a few hours after Carnegie. “We’re definitely great friends. She gave me some release on the court and I think we definitely benefited each other. Just knowing that she’s in another program, that she’s gonna do great things year, I’m excited to see her play.”

Carnegie mentioned that she and Morgan nearly reunited once again during the offseason. They had talks while in the portal about teaming up at another school. It was fully on the table. But when asked about it, Morgan — smiling at the opportunity to talk about her friend — said she knew Kentucky was her new home, and that Carnegie was welcome to follow. Their connection remained, though.

“I knew where I was going, and if she wanted to come, she could come,” Morgan said. “But I wasn’t going to waver from where I was going.”

“At the end of the day, we just knew that we were going to stick together no matter what,” Carnegie said. “Even on different teams.

Both Morgan and Carnegie are expected to play significant roles on their respective teams in 2025-26. Morgan has the challenging task of replacing a multi-time All-American at point guard. But Carnegie wants the Big Blue Nation to know they got a good one in her former teammate and new lifelong friend.

“Ya’ll got a person that’s never gonna give up,” Carnegie said of Morgan. “Just know ya’ll got a dog, for real.“

Kentucky and Georgia will face each other once this season in Lexington at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, January 25, at noon ET on the SEC Network. Expect some pleasantries before tipoff, but don’t expect any friendliness once these two competitors get rolling.

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