Ducks Women Announce Signing of Taylor Mikesell

Oregon women’s basketball head coach Kelly Graves bolstered the Ducks’ roster with one of the top shooters in the country on Thursday, officially announcing the signing of transfer guard Taylor Mikesell.
 
Mikesell comes to Oregon after spending the previous two seasons at Maryland, where she averaged 12.3 points per game and shot 41.8 percent from three-point range while starting 66 straight games for the Terrapins. The Massillon, Ohio, native was the Big Ten freshman of the year and an all-Big-Ten second-team selection by the league’s coaches in 2018-19 before earning all-Big-Ten honorable mention status in 2019-20.
 
Mikesell is entering her junior season and will submit a petition to play for the Ducks immediately in 2020-21 due to NCAA transfer rules. She will have two years of eligibility remaining at Oregon.
 
“We are thrilled to be able to add a player of Taylor’s caliber,” said Graves. “She is a proven winner and one of the very best pure shooters in the nation, and she’ll add another veteran presence to our young team. Taylor is a tremendous fit for our program and I can’t wait to get her to Eugene.”

The No. 32 ranked recruit in the nation out of Jackson High School, Mikesell burst onto the scene as a true freshman in 2018-19 and established herself as one of the most lethal shooters in the NCAA while averaging 13.4 points per game. Mikesell’s 95 made three-pointers broke the Maryland single-season record for both men and women, and she shot 41.1 percent from beyond the arc to rank second in the Big Ten and 22nd in the nation.
 
Mikesell scored in double figures in 27 of 34 games as a freshman, recording 20 or more points on three occasions. The guard helped lead Maryland to the Big Ten Tournament final before scoring 16 points in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against Radford and 14 in a second-round loss to UCLA.
 
Coming off a stellar freshman season, Mikesell averaged 11.2 points per game in 2019-20 while ranking second in the Big Ten and 24th in the NCAA with a 42.5 three-point percentage. Mikesell posted six games of 20 points or more – including a 22-point performance with six three-pointers in Maryland’s win over Purdue to open the Big Ten Tournament – and she matched her career-high of 23 points twice in an eight-game stretch during nonconference play. Mikesell also racked up 45 total steals as a sophomore while averaging 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.