Novak Announces Addition of Winston to 2022 Signing Class
January 07, 2022 | Women's Basketball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State Interim head coach Doug Novak announced the signing of former four-star guard Alyza Winston to a letter of intent on Friday. Winston, a transfer from Michigan State, will practice with the team this spring and will be eligible to play during the 2022-23 season. Winston joins incoming four-star freshman Debreasha Powe in the 2022 class.
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Alyza Winston | 5-7 | Guard | Muskegon, Mich. | Muskegon High School | Michigan State
Get To Know Alyza
Winston, a four-star recruit out of Michigan and the No. 68 ranked player in the class of 2019, comes to Mississippi State from Michigan State. After having a breakout sophomore campaign, Winston was a key contributor for the Spartans. She became a full-time starter last season, averaging 11.1 points, 2.0 assists and 1.1 rebounds per contest. Entering the 2021-22 season, she picked up right where she left off, averaging 12.2 points, 3.0 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 10 games this season. She scored in double figures 23 times in her career while eclipsing the 15-point mark in 11 of those games. She is a career 44% shooter from the field and 73% from the charity stripe. She chose Mississippi State over UConn, Texas, Baylor and Ole Miss.
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In high school, Winston played for Rodney Walker at Muskegon High School, where she helped guide her team to the Class A State semifinals while averaging 24.7 points, 3.3 steals, 3.2 assists during her senior season, and was named to the 2019 Detroit Free Press Dream Team. As a junior, she led Muskegon to the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history. She averaged 21.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.1 steals during her junior campaign. During her career, she earned back-to-back All-State honors in 2018 and 2019 while also earning all-conference and all-district honors.
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Novak on Winston
"We are excited to add an experienced guard like Alyza to next year's roster. Alyza was a highly sought-after player from Michigan State and she comes to Mississippi State with the ability to make an impact on the game in multiple ways. She has a knack for putting the ball in the hoop while also making her teammates around her better. We are looking forward to coaching her."
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Winston's Career Highs:
Points: 25, vs. Iowa (12/12/20)
Field Goals: 9, vs. Iowa (12/12/20)
Free Throws: 7, vs. Central Michigan (12/18/20)
3-Point Field Goals: 6, vs. Iowa (12/12/20)
Rebounds: 7, vs. Penn State (3/10/21)
Assists: 6, vs. Niagara (11/14/21)
Blocks: 1, 2x last vs Fordham (11/21/21)
Steals: 3, two times vs. Iowa (12/12/20)
Minutes: 38, vs. Penn State (3/10/21)
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Mississippi State, 10-4 overall and 1-1 in the SEC, will host Vanderbilt on Sunday, Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. in its SEC home opener.
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