Pitt lands in top nine of top-50 recruit Shyanne Sellers

Second-year head coach Lance White and the Pitt women’s basketball program were the recipients of some good news on Sunday night, as Shyanne Sellers, a 6’2” guard out of Aurora High School in Aurora, Ohio, announced her top nine schools and included Pitt among them.

”First, I want to thank all the schools that have shown interest in recruiting me,” Sellers wrote in a message posted on Twitter. “Your time, effort and resources are extremely appreciated. I realize how blessed I am to be in this position. With that being said, my family, my coaches and I have discussed at length which schools may be a great fit for me. We have come to the conclusion that my final list will include nine schools. I am pleased to share with you my top nine schools.”

The top nine included Florida State, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Purdue-Fort Wayne and UCLA. Indiana, Pitt and Purdue-Fort Wayne can all be viewed as outliers of sorts in Sellers’ list, as Florida State, Louisville, Maryland, Notre Dame and UCLA all finished last season in the Top 25. However, the advantage they present to Sellers is their relative proximity to Aurora. Notably, Pitt is the only school in Sellers' top nine that is fewer than 100 miles away.

Sellers is considered a four-star recruit, according to espnW, which also ranks her as the No. 36 prospect in the 2021 class. In addition, the rising junior earned first-team All-Ohio honors as well as a conference player of the year nod after averaging 23.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game in the 2018-19 season.

Pitt would greatly benefit from the influx of talent that Sellers would provide, as the Panthers have not been able to log a winning season since 2015. However, since White was hired, the team has begun a turnaround on the recruiting trail, landing the services of 6’4” Texas Tech transfer Marcella Lamark dos Santos and junior college star Gabbie Green.

Given those recent recruiting coups, there is reason to believe that White has the program moving in the right direction. And if he is able to land Sellers, there will be no doubt.