Women's Basketball Adds Pair Of Transfers

BradleyBraves.com Women's Basketball 6/18/2015 6:30:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Fourth-year Bradley women's basketball head coach Michael Brooks added two more individuals to the 2015-16 roster, announcing two NCAA Division I transfers will join the squad this summer to give the Braves five newcomers this fall.

Bradley will have a total of three NCAA Division I transfers after Thursday's announcement 5-10 forward Briana Gray (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet/Saint Louis) and 5-7 point guard Kat Yelle (Geneva, Ill./Geneva/Ohio) have transferred to The Hilltop for the 2015-16 school year. A redshirt senior, Yelle will be eligible in 2015-16 after graduating from Ohio this spring. Gray will have two years of eligibility remaining starting in 2016-17 after sitting out the upcoming 2015-16 season.

A three-time letterwinner at Ohio, Yelle earned a degree in health service administration this spring and will be immediately eligible as she starts work toward a Master's Degree in Leadership in Human Service Administration at Bradley. In 2014-15, she led the Bobcats in assists (2.7 per game) and boasted a 1.83 assist-to-turnover ratio as she helped lead Ohio to a 27-5 overall record, Mid American Conference regular-season and tournament titles along with an NCAA Tournament appearance. Yelle shot 47.4 percent from the field and averaged 6.4 points per game as a junior.

Coming off an injury which sidelined her for most of the 2012-13 campaign, Yelle started 28 of 30 games as a sophomore and dished out 2.5 assists per outing to go with her 6.8 points-per-game scoring average. She started the first 11 games of her career in 2011-12, before a season-ending injury. Yelle was a first-team all-state selection at Geneva High School as a senior and is the school's all-time leading scorer. Part of Geneva's two-time IHSA state championship cross country team, she earned all-state honors in track.

"Adding Kat into our family gives us a floor leader at the point guard position who is battle tested and has led her former team to conference championships and the NCAA Tournament,” stated Brooks. “She is a dedicated young woman who understands how to win and make her team better. We will look for her to bring that experience as well as her ability to play with tempo and create shots for her teammates. She has had to persevere through a lot of injuries during her career and will add a great deal of maturity to our squad.”

A junior in 2015-16, Gray played in 11 games as a sophomore in 2014-15 for the Billikens before she had her season cut short due to injury and appeared in 20 contests while averaging just over seven minutes per game as a freshman at Saint Louis in 2013-14. During her prep career, she was a first-team all-state selection and garnered conference player of the year honors after averaging 16.3 points, 8.8 rebounds 2.3 blocks and 1.9 assists as a senior.

Gray was a second-team all-conference performer as a junior at Nicolet High School, where she played for the sister of Bradley Assistant Coach Lindsay Schultz. On the track, she was part of a state champion 4x400 meter relay team in addition to earning a third-place finish in the triple jump.

"Bri is a young woman who we had the pleasure of recruiting out of high school and have had a relationship with for some time,” added Brooks. “She is a humble, hard-working gym rat. We will look for her to add length, athleticism and a great mid-range game to our team. Bri is a talented defender, who will excel in our system. Her academic work is second to none and she will be a great fit in our family."

The pair of transfers will join 5-9 guard Emily Eshoo (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy), 5-6 guard Gabby Green (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) and 6-2 forward Vanessa Markert (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) as newcomers for the Braves in 2015-16.

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