University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagles Add to Signing Class
4/17/2023 1:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Lady Eagle basketball head coach Joye Lee-McNelis announces the addition of Nyla Jean. Jean, a junior transfer from Georgia State, becomes the fourth member of the 2023 signing class.
"We are excited to have Nyla join our Lady Eagle basketball family," said McNelis. "Nyla will have two years to wear the Black & Gold and can play all three guard positions for us, which she did at Georgia State. She averaged eight points per game and was second in steals and free throw percentage. Nyla is expected to bring experience to our backcourt.
Nyla's personality will bring much enthusiasm to our program: she is very outgoing and embraces that personality in her leadership skills, which we hope will help us with the loss of Lauren Gross. Nyla values relationships with her coaches and says she wants to be an extension of us on the floor."
Jean arrives in Hattiesburg after two years in Atlanta with Georgia State. In two seasons with the Panthers, Jean appeared in 53 games and made 29 starts. In her 2022-23 season, she helped as a solid scoring and defensive option for the Panthers, averaging 8.0 points and 26.5 minutes per contest.
She converted 30 long balls on 106 attempts for a 30.2 percent rate and nailed a total of 77 buckets on the season. A true dual-threat scorer, Jean found her way to the free throw line 96 times this season, converting 81.3 percent of her attempts. Jean also enjoyed success in picking opponents' pockets as she swiped 40 steals on the year.
No stranger to the Lady Eagles, Jean dropped 18 points to lead the Panthers in scoring in a 71-57 Southern Miss win in Atlanta.
As a freshman, Jean started in 10 games and played in 24. On 14.3 minutes per game, freshman Jean averaged 5.6 points per game with a 33.1 percent field goal percentage.
Prior to her time in Atlanta, Jean lettered four years for the Plant High School (Tampa, Fla.) Panthers for legendary Coach Carrie Mahon. In four years at Plant, the Panthers and Jean posted a 108-12 overall record, winning four district titles and claiming the FHSAA 7A State Championship in her senior season.
Over the course of her career, she averaged 22.7 minutes, 13.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 0.6 blocks per game over 116 games. In her senior year, she totaled 481 points, 114 boards, 90 assists, 103 steals and 18 blocks the for eventual state champions.
She played the 2020-21 season with Southern Miss signee Morgan Sieper.
"We are excited to have Nyla join our Lady Eagle basketball family," said McNelis. "Nyla will have two years to wear the Black & Gold and can play all three guard positions for us, which she did at Georgia State. She averaged eight points per game and was second in steals and free throw percentage. Nyla is expected to bring experience to our backcourt.
Nyla's personality will bring much enthusiasm to our program: she is very outgoing and embraces that personality in her leadership skills, which we hope will help us with the loss of Lauren Gross. Nyla values relationships with her coaches and says she wants to be an extension of us on the floor."
Jean arrives in Hattiesburg after two years in Atlanta with Georgia State. In two seasons with the Panthers, Jean appeared in 53 games and made 29 starts. In her 2022-23 season, she helped as a solid scoring and defensive option for the Panthers, averaging 8.0 points and 26.5 minutes per contest.
She converted 30 long balls on 106 attempts for a 30.2 percent rate and nailed a total of 77 buckets on the season. A true dual-threat scorer, Jean found her way to the free throw line 96 times this season, converting 81.3 percent of her attempts. Jean also enjoyed success in picking opponents' pockets as she swiped 40 steals on the year.
No stranger to the Lady Eagles, Jean dropped 18 points to lead the Panthers in scoring in a 71-57 Southern Miss win in Atlanta.
As a freshman, Jean started in 10 games and played in 24. On 14.3 minutes per game, freshman Jean averaged 5.6 points per game with a 33.1 percent field goal percentage.
Prior to her time in Atlanta, Jean lettered four years for the Plant High School (Tampa, Fla.) Panthers for legendary Coach Carrie Mahon. In four years at Plant, the Panthers and Jean posted a 108-12 overall record, winning four district titles and claiming the FHSAA 7A State Championship in her senior season.
Over the course of her career, she averaged 22.7 minutes, 13.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 0.6 blocks per game over 116 games. In her senior year, she totaled 481 points, 114 boards, 90 assists, 103 steals and 18 blocks the for eventual state champions.
She played the 2020-21 season with Southern Miss signee Morgan Sieper.
Players Mentioned
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