Pitt women’s basketball added to its Class of 2024 Monday night as Kiara Williams announced her commitment to the program on Twitter.
“After considering a lot of good options I’ve decided to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Pittsburgh,” Williams wrote in her post. Thank you to Coach Verdi and Pitt WBB for believing in me. #GOPANTHERS #H2P”
Williams is the second member of the Class of 2024, joining forward Audrey Biggs from Catlettsburg, Ky. and Boyd County High School. Pitt beat out other schools in UNCG, George Mason, Southern Miss, Michigan, Mississippi State, who also offered Williams.
She stands at 6-foot-1 and plays both power forward and center for Palm Bay Magnet High School in Melbourne, Fla. As a junior last season, she averaged 13.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, including 3.7 offensive rebounds, along with 2.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.4 blocks per game, respectively.
Williams is a stellar post player. She has the footwork to beat her opponents down in the paint, either with a short jump shot or by going straight up to the basket with the layup. Williams also has the strength to dominate smaller opponents and can bully taller defenders out of the way to score if needed.
She also possesses a solid mid-range jump shot, has good court awareness to find her teammates, can run the floor to score on the fast break and drive to the hoop through contact.
Panthers head coach Tory Verdi and his coaching staff have had to work quickly to build a new team since he joined the program in April. They’ve added five new transfers to the program and added a player from the Class of 2023 for the upcoming season, as they’ve dealt with 11 players leaving over the offseason from last year’s team.
Pitt has put work on the recruiting trail this summer and also hosted two top recruits from the Class of 2024 two weekends ago in Aaliyah Guyton and Laura Williams. Guyton is the No. 57 recruit and Laura Williams is the No. 86 recruit in ESPN HoopGurls Class of 2024, respectively. Both recruits have Pitt in their top five schools.
