Cal Poly Women’s Basketball Announces Seven New Additions to 2023-24 Roster

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly women's basketball second-year head coach Shanele Stires has announced the addition of seven new players to the roster for the 2023-24 season. The new players consist of four Division I transfers, two freshmen, and one player who redshirted last season. They join three other incoming freshmen (Mary Carter, Alana Goosby, Jordan Hoffman) who were announced during last fall's signing period to make it a total of 10 newcomers for the upcoming season. More about the newcomers: Jordan Billing Freshman, Guard Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia/Emmanuel College Billing comes to Cal Poly all the way from Australia where she was a four-time Queensland State Champion while playing for Gold Coast AAU Team. In 2022, she was named to the Queensland U18 State Team after being the leading scorer in the U18 State Championship game with 25 points. Outside of basketball, Billing also participated in swimming where she was a state silver medalist in the 200m backstroke and was a state champion in surf lifesaving. Coach Stires quote: "Jordan is a winner through and through, not only is she an impressive student, but she has excelled in everything that she has ever set her mind to; surf lifesaving, ironman competitions, swimming, and she is brings so much skill and intelligence to the basketball court. We quickly fell in love with Jordan and her entire family during the recruiting process. Jordan will be an incredible addition to our family, and we are blessed to get to work with her." Brooke Gutheil Redshirt Freshman, Forward Lake Tahoe, NV/Incline High School Gutheil was on campus last year but redshirted the entire 2022-23 season. This upcoming year will be her first season of game action for the Mustangs. She came to Cal Poly after starring at Incline High School in Lake Tahoe where she helped the program win two regional and state championships. She was a three-time All-League honoree and earned Second Team All-State honors as a sophomore and First Team All-State honors as a senior. Gutheil finished her high school career ranked third in Nevada state history for career blocks. Coach Stires quote: "Brooke has such a huge heart for Cal Poly and our program, one of the best teammates that we have seen. Brooke brings a bright and bold intelligence to our team. Working with her has been a pleasure, and in particular during the spring of 2023 we saw great growth in her game and we consider her to be our most improved player from a year ago. We are excited to see what the future has in store for Brooke and we are so happy that she is a Mustang" Ania McNicholas Graduate Student, Guard San Jose, CA/Cornell McNicholas arrives at Cal Poly as a graduate transfer from Cornell where she played three seasons. She played in 68 career games there, averaging 7.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists for her career. As a senior in 2022-23, she averaged a career-high 11 points along with 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.8 steals per game which ranked 18th in all of Division I. McNicholas played high school ball at Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, Calif. There, she was a two-time All-League honoree and helped Archbishop Mitty win the 2018 National Championship. Coach Stires quote: "Ania was a player that we learned about early in the recruiting process and developed a great rapport with as a staff. Ania brings so much high level experience to our program, a proven winner, and a fabulous student. She will provide much needed leadership and experience to our culture. Excited to have such a competitor who has an infectious personality. Ania is a tremendous addition to our program." Amanda Olinger Graduate Student, Forward Chatsworth, CA/University of San Diego Olinger is another graduate transfer who comes to Cal Poly after playing four years at the University of San Diego. She played in 73 career games for the Toreros and as a senior in 2022-23, she started 30 games while averaging 4.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. She also led San Diego in three-point shooting percentage, shooting 34 percent on 59 attempts. The California native attended Sierra Canyon High School where she holds the school record for blocks in a season. In 2019, she was an All-Southern Section Second Team honoree while being named Second Team Gold Coast League in 2018. Coach Stires quote: "Amanda is another player that joins our family with great experience. She will bring needed depth and ability with her on court versatility. Amanda has the ability to step out and stretch the defense, and provide needed punch on the interior. She comes from a winning high school and college program and we truly believe that Amanda's best basketball is out in front of her. We are beyond excited to have her in the Mustang family, our fans are going to love her game." Brooklyn Perry Freshman, Guard Lodi, CA/Folsom High School Perry averaged 15.6 points per game in two varsity seasons at Folsom High School, missing her senior season due to injury. As a sophomore, she averaged 19.1 points per game while as a junior she averaged 14.5 points while ranking 84th in the nation in threes made with 84. During her junior year, she had a game in which she made eight threes and scored a career-high 35 points. Coach Stires quote: "Brooklyn is a dynamite young player who has court vision and shooting that is high level. Brooklyn was heavily recruited during her high school career and we forged a great relationship with her and her family. She is very coachable and has a toughness and a tenacity that we love. She is going to have a great career here at Cal Poly and is a great fit in our team-first culture." Sidney Richards Junior, Guard Sacramento, CA/San Jose State Richards played in 56 games over two seasons at San Jose State. As a sophomore in 2022-23, she started 22 games while averaging 4.7 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting 35 percent from three. As a freshman, she played in 25 games off the bench, averaging 3.2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. She was a four-year player at Inderkum High School in Sacramento where she averaged 10.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game for her career there. Coach Stires quote: "Sidney is a young lady that we developed a relationship with while she was in high school. When the opportunity to recruit her to Cal Poly presented itself, we knew it was a game changer. Her family, club coach and Sidney herself are incredible additions to our family. Sidney is tough, hardworking, committed and ready to help Cal Poly basketball achieve new heights and we couldn't be happier to see her in Mustang green & gold." Diamond Richardson Junior, Guard Sacramento, CA/University of the Pacific Richardson spent the last two seasons playing at Pacific up in Stockton. There, she played in 54 games, averaging 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game during that time. As a sophomore in 2022-23, she started 10 of the final 11 games of the season while averaging 3.4 points per game. At Grant Union High School in Sacramento, Richardson was a two-time All-City Sacramento and All-Sacramento Metro League as in both her junior and senior seasons she averaged over 16 points per game. Coach Stires quote: "Diamond is truly a special young lady. She has one of the best and most engaged personalities that we have seen. She is fabulous teammate and understands what it takes to hold others accountable while being a big time energy giver. She provides much needed toughness and tenacity, as well as experience that will spearhead our defensive efforts. Mustang fans are going to love her athleticism and high energy play. We could not be more thrilled to have Diamond as a part of our Cal Poly family."

Calendar

Cal Poly Women’s Basketball Announces Seven New Additions to 2023-24 Roster

Players Mentioned

Jordan Billing

Mary Carter

Alana Goosby

Jordan Hoffman

Ania McNicholas

Amanda Olinger

Brooklyn Perry

Sidney Richards

Diamond Richardson

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