Junior college All-American Gabbie Green signs with Pitt

Pitt head coach Lance White announced on Wednesday that Gabbie Green, an All-American from the junior college ranks, signed her national letter of intent and will join the Pitt women’s basketball team in 2019. The 5’7” guard out of South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, will have two years of eligibility remaining upon her arrival in Pittsburgh.

”The addition of Gabbie Green to our team will make an immediate impact,” White said in a statement. “Gabbie is a junior college All-American who has competed for the last two seasons on a top-10 program in the country. Her junior college experience, along with her ability, work ethic and leadership, make her a huge addition to our team. There is no doubt she will make us better and bring value to the guard position. We are beyond excited for Gabbie to officially be a Pitt Panther.”

The pickup of Green represents the second major recruiting coup White has pulled off in the Texas panhandle this year, as he secured the services of 6’4” Texas Tech transfer Marcella Lamark dos Santos in January. White has ties to the area, having served as an assistant at Texas Tech, which is his alma mater, under Marsha Sharp for 11 seasons. He also grew up in Spur, Texas, about an hour east of Lubbock, and appears to be benefitting from focusing on his old stomping grounds.

During her sophomore season at South Plains College, Green led her team with 14.4 points per game and chipped in an average of 4.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists over 35 games as well. The Lady Texans went 30-5 in the 2018-19 season, reaching the Elight Eight of the NJCAA women’s tournament and earning a No. 1 overall ranking in the NJCAA poll for the first time in program history. Green’s contributions were vital to the team’s success, and for her performance, she earned first-team WBCA and NJCAA All-America honors.

Green announced her commitment to Pitt last Wednesday, and during a press conference at South Plains College, she said that she chose Pitt over the likes of Boise State, Colorado, Illinois State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, UTSA and several other schools. Green said her decision came down to a final two of Illinois State and Pitt. She also expounded on what attracted her to Pittsburgh.

”Since high school, I always knew I wanted to go to the highest level, and Pittsburgh is at that level,” the guard said. “I love everything about the program. The city is big, and I will have great coaches and teammates. I’m proud of the way we came up from the bottom to the top at South Plains, and it couldn’t have been down without my teammates.”

At Pitt, Green is likely to see significant minutes, as the Panthers had nine guards on their roster at the start of the 2018-19 season but lost Aysia Bugg to a medical issue, Alayna Gribble to a medical disqualification, Tehya Lyons to a transfer and Cassidy Walsh to graduation. Bugg and Walsh were the top scorers in the Pitt backcourt last season, with 14.0 and 9.7 points per game, respectively. White and the Pitt staff are hopeful Bugg will be granted an additional year of eligibility.