FORT MYERS, Fla. - FGCU women's basketball head coach Karl Smesko has announced the signing of Kierstan Bell, a 6-1 transfer guard from The Ohio State University. She will have to sit out the 2020-21 season but will have three years of eligibility remaining with the Eagles.
 
The former five-star recruit out of Canton McKinley (OH) High School becomes the highest-rated signee in the history of the FGCU women's basketball program. She was the top player in Ohio State's No. 3 nationally-ranked class one-year ago as she was ranked No. 8 nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz and No. 18 by ProspectsNation.com.
 
"Kierstan is a tremendous talent," Smesko said. "She is strong, skilled and versatile, and she has WNBA ability. We are really looking forward to working with her."
 
Bell averaged 10.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals and nearly one block per game as a collegiate rookie for Ohio State last year. She finished second on the team in scoring and led the Buckeyes in 3-point field goals (56), which was also ninth-most in the Big Ten. Following the season, she was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten and was a member of the Big Ten's All-Freshmen Team. On top of that, she was a three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and tallied 19 games with 10-plus points.
 
Some of her top games included: a 14-point outburst in a win over No. 2 Louisville on Dec. 5; a 16-point, 12-rebound, four-block performance against Nebraska in which she made a game-tying basket in the final minute of regulation to force overtime; 16 points vs UConn Nov. 24; a 20-point, 10-rebound and season-high six-assist outing against Wisconsin Feb. 9; and a 16-point performance in an upset-win over No. 19 Iowa in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
 
"This is a new beginning," Bell said of her decision. "I'll be closer to my family, but FGCU carries a winning basketball tradition, and I want to play for a coach who is going to push me to my best ability and get me to the next level."
 
Prior to Ohio State, Bell became the first female in the history of Ohio high school basketball to be a three-time Ms. Basketball. She was named a McDonald's All-American after averaging 27 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.4 blocks, 3.8 steals and three assists as a senior. She led Canton McKinley to a 93-14 record in her career and finished as the fourth-leading prep scorer in the history of Ohio with 2,833, eclipsing legends like Katie Smith and Semeka Randall. In fact, four of the other five top scorers on the list are members of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
Ohio career scoring leaders
1. Marlene Stollings, Beaver Eastern - 3,514
2. Joanne Inneman, Olmsted Falls - 2,988
3. Lisa Cline, Millersburg West Holmes - 2,958
4. Kierstan Bell, McKinley - 2,833
5. Semeka Randall, Garfield Heights Trinity - 2,799
 
Additionally, Bell competed in the Jordan Brand Classic in Las Vegas, while being named Third Team Naismith High School All-American and Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year.
 
As a junior, Bell averaged 33.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, five steals, 3.9 assists and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the field. She became the first sophomore to be named Ms. Basketball in Ohio in 2017 after averaging 26.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.2 steals, three assists and 2.3 blocks while leading her team to the state semifinals.
 
Bell made an impact right away in her high school career, averaging 21 points and 9.8 rebounds as a freshman to earn First Team All-Ohio honors. She finished her career with 105 double-figure scoring games and set 35 school records, including career rebounds (960) and career steals (437).
 
Bell becomes the seventh signee for next season, joining: Aaliyah Stanley, a 5-6 transfer guard from Eastern Michigan University; 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.

E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
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.