The West Virginia women’s basketball team signed Auburn transfer Sydney Shaw this offseason, looking to bolster their roster.
Shaw, a 5-foot-9 guard from Miami, Florida played in 63 games for the Tigers, starting 43 over her first two seasons collegiately. Last season she averaged 6.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and just under an assist per game while shooting 34.2% from the field.
“It just wasn’t a good fit for me anymore,” Shaw said about leaving Auburn. “What I wanted to do is very different from how they wanted to use me. I just wanted to be happy where I was.”
In 2023-2024, Auburn went 20-12 with Shaw and was eliminated by Arizona in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. In that game, Shaw had seven points, four rebounds, three steals and an assist in 31 minutes. Then after the season, Shaw would enter the transfer portal, eventually landing at WVU.
“West Virginia came into the picture and after my visit, I really gelled with the girls and that made the transition a lot easier,” Shaw said. “It’s been seamless personally. I really like them (WVU teammates), they seem to really like me so, it’s been a good time.”
Shaw will have to fit into the rotation with the Mountaineers’ other two guards JJ Quinerly and Jordan Harrison. Shaw is a guard by trade but may have to play a different position at times to help the team achieve success overall.
“I think I’m going to have to play the three. At Auburn, I ended up playing the three a lot so, it won’t really be a big difference. You just got to guard somebody a bit bigger in man and play the bottom of the two-three,” Shaw said.
With Shaw, the Mountaineers will look to accomplish greater feats this upcoming season. In head coach Mark Kellogg’s second season West Virginia is looking to become stronger and continue to establish their identity in women’s college basketball.
“I liked the way they carried themselves and I liked the standard they held themselves to and it’s something I really wanted to be apart of,” Shaw said on ultimately choosing West Virginia.
