FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off a Division-I program record 33-win season and berth in the WNIT Final in 2015-16, FGCU women's basketball head coach Karl Smesko announced the addition of Mikala McGhee and Nasrin Ulel to the program Thursday afternoon.
 
A 5-11 guard, McGhee is a transfer from George Mason, but did not play for the Patriots in 2015-16, and will have one year of immediate eligibility as a graduate student with the Eagles. Ulel recently graduated from Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta, Calif., and the 5-9 forward will have four years of eligibility with the Green and Blue.
 
"Mikala is a tough, physical player with great athleticism. We expect her to make a big contribution this season," commented Smesko. "Nasrin is a defensive standout who also is a good scorer with 3-point range."
 
A native of Bridgeton, Mo., McGhee began her career at Missouri State where she played two years with the Bears. As a freshman, she appeared in 20 games and netted a career-high 10 points on 4-8 shooting at Missouri. Later in the year, she scored a team-high eight points against Creighton. Nearly half of McGhee's rebounds her freshman year came on the offensive end.
 
As a sophomore at Missouri State, McGhee played in all 31 games and made five starts. She finished the year averaging 4.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, with her 126 rebounds being the fourth-most on the team.
 
McGhee attended Pattonville High in the St. Louis area and set school records for career points (1,647), rebounds (852) and steals (411). As a senior, she averaged 20.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 5.1 steals with 54 made 3-pointers en route to being named a First Team All-State selection.
 
Ulel is coming off a senior season at Vista Murrieta where she averaged 14.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.8 steals per game and was named to the All-Southwestern League First Team. Ulel helped lead the Broncos to an unblemished conference mark in 2015-16 and captured the Southwestern League Championship. Vista Murrieta advanced to the semifinals of the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) State Regional Tournament and deep into the state playoffs.
 
Ranked as the 13th-best player in California at her position by MaxPreps, Ulel scored a career-high and school-record 46 points as a junior in Vista Murrieta's 91-51 win over Mesa. Ulel averaged 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game in 2014-15, leading her to a place on the All-Southwestern League Second Team.
 
A three-year varsity team member, Ulel finished her career with 982 points, 473 rebounds, 157 assists and 196 steals. She shot 50 percent from the field for her career, including a 58-percent clip (135-232) as a senior. Ulel also connected on a third of her 3-point attempts in high school, finishing with 119 career makes – 63 which came during her senior campaign.
 
FGCU will enter 2016-17 as winners of six-straight Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season championships after compiling its fourth perfect league season in five years in 2015-16. Led by seven-time ASUN Coach of the Year Smesko, last year's team finished its historic season with an overall record of 33-6 and a league mark of 14-0. The club won a program-record five games in the WNIT – including at home over Michigan in the semifinals – before falling just short in the final game at South Dakota.
 
The Eagles lose eight seniors to graduation off that team, but return one of the nation's best shooters in Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School). In addition to Gradinjan and four others who saw playing time during 2015-16, transfer China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) becomes eligible for the start of next season and is expected to make an immediate impact for the Green and Blue. McGhee and Ulel complete an eight-player class for the Eagles.
 
ABOUT KARL SMESKO
Smesko has guided the Eagles to 12-straight 20+ win seasons. He maintains a record of 378-73 at FGCU for a win percentage of .838 with a mark of 145-13 (.917) in ASUN contests and has led the team to an 81-1 record in conference play in the last five seasons. Smesko earned his 400th career win last season in just 493 career games – two contests faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma – and holds a career record of 439-100 (.815). Smesko ranks among an elite list of just four active D-I coaches with a career win percentage of .800 or higher, joining Auriemma, Baylor's Kim Mulkey and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer in the esteemed group.
 
SOCIAL CENTRAL
For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the women's basketball program, follow @FGCU_WBB on Twitter and Instagram and Like us on Facebook at /FGCUWBB.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.