Brianna Kiesel signs contract with UNI Gyor in Hungary

Former Pitt guard Brianna Kiesel signed a contract that will see her extend her professional career overseas next season with UNI Gyor of the Hungarian A Division, which is the top pro league in Hungary. The move brings Kiesel to Gyor, Hungary, for the second time in her career, as she previously played for the team during the 2016-17 season.

Kiesel was a standout on the Pitt women’s basketball team under former Panthers head coaches Agnus Berenato and Suzie McConnell-Serio from 2011 until 2015. After a collegiate career in which she finished fifth in career points and assists at Pitt, with 1,938 and 433, the 5’7” guard was selected 13th overall in the second round of the WNBA draft by the Tulsa Shock and would go on to play for the Atlanta Dream and Dallas Wings in the league.

Most recently, Kiesel played overseas for Artego Bydgoszcz in the Basket Liga Kobiet, the top pro league in Poland, in the 2019-20 season. She averaged 15.0 points, 5.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game and made 36.7 percent of her three-point shots and 52.9 percent of her total field-goal attempts.

Kiesel’s shooting percentages were particularly notable, as both marked career highs for the Pitt alum at both the professional and collegiate levels. Kiesel’s previous personal best in three-point shooting came in her senior year at Pitt, when she shot 34.7 percent. And her previous high in field-goal percentage came two seasons ago in Sweden, when she made 50.6 percent of her total field-goal attempts with Umea BasketBollklubb.

The Hungarian A Division’s 2020-21 season is set to get underway in September. Kiesel is likely to play a key role on a team that went 12-10 in the Hungarian league last season.