Pitt announced the signature of junior college guard Mia Simpson on Tuesday.
Simpson starred at the JUCO level for Morton College in Cicero, Ill. She averaged 17.2 points per game last season as a sophomore, while leading the country with an incredible 71.2 shooting percentage. Simpson also averaged 11.5 rebounds and 4.3 rebounds per game, and World Exposure Report named her the Sophomore Player of the Year.
She had 26 double-doubles last season and scored 1,005 career points for Morton College, third most all-time in program history. Simpson also helped Morton College to a 34-1 record, which included a 32-game winning streak, and a fifth place finish at the National Tournament.
Simpson stands at 5-foot-8, hails from Waukegan, Ill. and played for Waukegan High School, a suburb north of Chicago. She joins USC transfer Bella Perkins as one of two guards to transfer to Pitt this offseason and is the fifth guard on the team along with sophomores Marley Washenitz and Aislin Malcolm and incoming first-year Jasmine Timmerson from North Allegheny.
She is also the third player to sign as a transfer for new head coach Tory Verdi this offseason, as former Seton Hall forward Jala Jordan, daughter of former Pitt men’s basketball forward Gerald Jordan, signed last week.
Simpson arrives at an important time for the Panthers, as Verdi is trying to build his team up with just four returning players and two recruits coming in. Nine players have left the program this offseason following the dismissal of head coach Lance White and Class of 2023 recruit Hannah Mills-Watson decommitted, making it 10.
Here is the Pitt Roster listed for the upcoming 2023-24 season and also the departures from the program below it.
2023-24 Pitt Roster + eligibility
Guards
Junior Mia Simpson: two years (Morton College (JUCO))
Junior Bella Perkins: two years (USC)
Sophomore Marley Washenitz: three years
Sophomore Aislin Malcolm: three years
First-year Jasmine Timmerson: four years
Forwards
Graduate Jala Jordan: one year (Seton Hall)
Senior Gabby Hutcherson: two years
Senior Liatu King: two years
First-year Lauren Rust: four years
Pitt Transfers/Decommits
Guard
Graduate Dayshanette Harris: one year (Clemson)
Graduate Emy Hayford: one year (Fordham)
Graduate Destiny Strother: one year (Niagara)
Senior Sandrine Clesca: two years (Monmouth)
Senior Taisha Exanor: two years (Monmouth)
Sophomore Avery “Ace” Strickland: three years (Tennessee)
Forward
Graduate forward Amber Brown: one year (St. John’s)
Redshirt senior Cynthia Ezeja: two years (Loyola Marymount)
Junior Maliyah Johnson: two years (Houston)
First-year Hannah Watson: four years (Toronto Metropolitan)
welcome aboard Ms. Simpson … H2P !