Pitt got their second transfer of the offseason in Maryland graduate guard Channise Lewis. Lewis posted her commitment to program in an Instagram post Monday night.
Lewis is a 5-foot-8 guard who came into Maryland as the No. 55 ranked recruit by ESPN in 2017. In high school, she won the Most Valuable Player of the Year of the Florida state championship twice.
Her first-year proved to be her best at Maryland. She started 32 of 34 games, averaged 5.4 points, 4.7 assists per game and shot 39.5% from behind the arc. Lewis’ 4.7 assists per game were the second most for a first-year player in the NCAA in the 2017-18 season.
Lewis spent more time on the bench in her sophomore season, starting just 13 games, but still played 34 games in the 2018-19 season.
She then suffered serious injuries and spent the majority of the rest of her Maryland career on the sidelines. She first injured her knee in October of 2019 and could not play at all her junior year.
She came back for the 2020-21 season as a senior, but then injured her knee again just nine games in. This injury deemed to be serious enough that she also sat out the entirety of the 2021-22 season.
Lewis is the second transfer of the offseason for Pitt head coach Lance White, as Ohio State forward Gabby Hutcherson committed to Pitt last week.
This is also the fourth addition to the team this offseason for the Panthers. Wing Avery “Ace” Strickland committed to the team last Monday and guard Marley Washenitz committed in late March to the program, both of which were West Virginia decommits.
Lewis’ experience and ability to create shots is going to be her best assets to the Pitt team next season. She will play the point guard role and back up incoming senior guards Dayshanette Harris and Emy Hayford. If she stays healthy and impresses throughout the season, White could make her the starting point guard or at least rotate her adequate minutes.
As a whole, Pitt now has nine returning players, three in their class of 2022 with local, Chartiers-Valley guard Aislin Malcolm, who is a top 100 player in the ESPN HoopGurlz recruiting rankings joining Strickland and Washenitz and transfers in Lewis and Hutcherson, giving them 14 players overall. White has one more spot on his roster and it is likely he will pursue another big in the transfer portal and if he is able to get another tall forward or center this offseason, he will deem this offseason a success.
