FORT MYERS, Fla. - FGCU women's basketball head coach Karl Smesko has announced the signing of Aaliyah Stanley, a 5-6 guard from Eastern Michigan University. The rising sophomore will have three years of eligibility remaining. She will have to sit out the 2020-21 season pending the outcome of the NCAA's transfer vote, which is expected to take place later this month.
 
In 18 games this past year, Stanley averaged 12.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.1 assists. She made 37-for-109 (.339) from long distance and finished as the team's second leading scorer in her rookie campaign.
 
"We are really excited about adding Aaliyah to our program," Smesko said. "She is a really talented guard who loves the game. She is exceptionally quick and is a good 3-point shooter."
 
Stanley, who prepped at Oxbridge Academy in Boynton Beach, produced double-digit scoring efforts in 11 of her 18 contests, including a season-high 24 against Southeast Missouri on Nov. 19 and Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 18. She also dropped 20 on Wichita State Dec. 7.
 
While at Oxbridge Academy, Stanley was the 142nd ranked player in the nation in the class of 2019 per ProspectsNation.com. The four-star prospect compiled over 1,000 career points and led her team to a state championship in 2018, where she scored a career-high 32 points in the title game. Individually, she was a Florida Association of Basketball Coaches (FABC) All-State selection and was named the FABC Class 5A Co-Player of the Year in 2018.
 
"FGCU's campus is outstanding," Stanley said of her decision to transfer to FGCU, where she intends to major in kinesiology. "They have both a great coaching staff and great girls that I have the opportunity to play with. Plus, it's closer to my hometown, so my parents can view a college game for the first time."
 
Stanley becomes the sixth signee for next season, joining: Tishara "TK" Morehouse, a 5-3 JUCO transfer guard from Western Nebraska Community College; Andrea Cecil, a 6-1 graduate transfer guard/forward from BGSU; Maddie Antenucci, a 5-10 guard from Indian Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio; Seneca Hackley, a 5-9 guard from Saint Mary's High School in Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Tomia Johnson, a 5-6 point guard from Grandview High School in Colorado Springs, Colo.

For complete coverage of the women's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_WBB, on Facebook at /fgcuwbb and online at www.FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU women's basketball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

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IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!

SUPPORT THE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Do you enjoy watching or following the FGCU women's basketball program? Would you like to play a role in the growth of the program and help take it to heights never before experienced? If so, you can reach out to Director of Advancement, Matt Ring, about opportunities to make an impact on the experiences of our student-athletes. He can be reached by email at mring@fgcu.edu or by office phone at 239-745-4434.

COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko maintains a record of 554-122 (.820) overall in his career (third highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and Baylor's Kim Mulkey), including a 201-17 (.922) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 24-2 (.923) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past nine seasons, including this year, he has guided FGCU to a 137-5 (.975) record in conference play with five undefeated seasons. The 10-time ASUN Coach of the Year has guided the Green and Blue to four 30-plus win seasons over the past six years while compiling a 179-31 (.852) record. He has also guided the program to 16 consecutive 20-win seasons and 10-straight 25-win seasons.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just eight-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty-one consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall semester saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.