If you can’t beat her, join her seems to be the message. Cleveland State’s Mickayla Perdue had a great year that ended at Buffalo in the WNIT this season. Now, she’s joining former Bulls head coach Becky Burke at Arizona.
Perdue has a lot to offer. She’s the reigning Horizon League Player of the Year and the 2023-24 Newcomer of the Year. She averaged 18.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists against 2.8 turnovers, and 1.2 steals in 31.9 minutes per game over two years with the Vikings.
She is also extremely experienced. The 5-foot-7 guard will be in her sixth year of college basketball.
She spent two years at Toledo, redshirting one of them. She then played one season at DII Glenville State before heading to Cleveland. At Glenville State, she helped get her team to the DII Final Four.
Perdue also has experience playing against top DI teams. Cleveland State faced a Top 10 team in each of her seasons there. This year, it was No. 10 Ohio State. She went 9 for 20 against the Buckeyes and got to the line eight times. The year before, it was No. 4 Iowa and star Caitlyn Clark. Perdue was 8 for 14 from the field and 5 for 7 from 3-point distance against the Hawkeyes.
Perdue gives Arizona three players on the roster. She joins returner Montaya Dew and Buffalo transfer Noelani Cornfield. As of last year, Arizona also still had Maya Nnaji counting against its scholarship limit, so that leaves Burke with 11 spots she can fill.