FORT MYERS, Fla. --- Kendall Spray, a 5-7 guard who spent the past two seasons playing for Clemson University, has signed with the FGCU women's basketball program for her final season of collegiate basketball. She joins University of Detroit Mercy transfer Kaela Webb as the first two members of next season's recruiting class.
 
The sharpshooter, who spent her first two seasons at UT Martin, is among the most prolific 3-point shooters in all of Division I women's basketball. Entering the 2021-22 season, Spray's 363 career 3-pointers will rank second among all active players behind Maryland's Katie Benzan (380). She also ranks third in 3-point field goals made per game (3.00), first in 3-point attempts (943) and second in 3-point attempts per game (7.79) while sporting a .385 career percentage from long distance.
 
"Kendall has been a very successful and effective player at both the Power 5 and mid-major levels," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "She is an elite shooter with a great work ethic."
 
The Eagles are returning nearly 95 percent of their scoring from last year and have now added just under 30 PPG in Division I scoring from last year with their first two signees of the recruiting class. Thus, with the additions of Spray and Webb, next year's roster will feature nearly 110 PPG of combined scoring from the 2020-21 season.
 
Spray, who has poured in 1,531 career points and ranks 34th among all active Division I players in total points as of the end of this past season, was Clemson's third leading scorer at 10.3 points per contest in 2020-21 while making 69-for-189 (.365) from long distance over 26 games. While landing a spot on the ACC's All-Academic Team for the second consecutive season, she finished among the nation's top 20 in 3-point field goals attempted (16th) and made (20th) while checking in 38th in 3-pointers made per game (2.65) and 77th in percentage. She poured in a season-high 24 points along with six rebounds and two assists on 7-for-12 shooting from long distance in a win over No. 23 Syracuse on Jan. 24 and finished the campaign with 12 double-digit scoring efforts.
 
As a redshirt junior in 2019-20, Spray broke Clemson's single-season 3-point record by making 80-for-228 (.351), which included the single-game record of eight against Notre Dame, which earned her ACC player of the week recognition on Dec. 30. She also produced her first double-double against Duke with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
 
In her first two seasons at UT Martin, Spray started 59 of 65 games while averaging a combined 14.7 PPG. She was named First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) as a sophomore after finishing ninth in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (3.68) and 16th in 3-point percentage (.425). Overall, she averaged 16.7 PPG that season with a whopping 125 made 3-pointers. That came after a rookie campaign where she was named the OVC's Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-OVC while landing a spot on the conference's all-newcomer team. In that season, she broke UT Martin's freshman 3-point record with 89.
 
Spray prepped at Wilson Central High School in Lebanon, Tenn., where she helped lead the Lady Wildcats to a 33-1 record and a state tournament appearance as a senior. Following the season, she was named a TSSAA Class AAA Miss Basketball finalist after setting the state and national single-season 3-point record with 170. She broke the TSSAA record for most 3-pointers in a game with 14 against Harpeth Hall on Dec. 19, 2015, which earned herself a spot in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd. Overall, she scored 1,995 points in her high school career.
 
FGCU, which only lost to No. 11 Michigan, No. 14 Missouri State and No. 23 Arkansas en route to a 26-3 campaign this past season, made history by being just the second team in the program's Division I era to finish among the top 25 teams nationally in both the AP and Coaches Poll, joining the 2014-15 squad that finished 20th and 21st. From late November until the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the team won 25 consecutive games.
 
Furthermore, after capturing the program's eighth ASUN tournament championship in 10 seasons and subsequently appearing in the NCAA Tournament this past season despite losing 90.1 percent of the team's scoring from the previous campaign, the Eagles will feature perhaps the most talented and experienced roster in program history next year as the Green and Blue are expected to return all but two players in 2021-22, including their top eight scorers and 94.7 percent of the team's offensive production.

For those interested in purchasing season tickets for next year, visit the interest form here. On top of that, fans can put a $10 non-refundable deposit down for basketball season tickets next year and receive all remaining regular season spring sport games for free. For any questions, feel free to call the FGCU ticket office by phone at 866-FGCU-TIX (866-342-8849) or by email at tickets@fgcu.edu.
 
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 580-125 (.823) overall in his career, which is the third-highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and Baylor's Kim Mulkey. He has also led the Eagles to a 217-17 (.927) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 27-2 (.931) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the past 10 seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 153-5 (.968) record in conference play with six undefeated seasons. The 11-time ASUN Coach of the Year has led the program to 11-straight 25-win seasons and 17-consecutive 20-win campaigns, including 30-plus wins in four of the past seven years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 519-98 all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green and Blue's .841 all-time winning percentage is the best in NCAA Division I women's basketball history.
 
#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 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 40 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall semesters each 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.

--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--