Sam Purcell built a significant portion of Mississippi State’s roster in the transfer portal this past season, and his first addition of this offseason became official Monday when Kentucky guard Eniya Russell announced her commitment to the Bulldogs.
Russell is a graduate transfer with just one year of eligibility remaining. She played her first two seasons at South Carolina, helping the Gamecocks win the 2022 NCAA championship. With the Wildcats, Russell started just two games in 2023-24 but still averaged 10.1 points per game even while averaging just 20 minutes per contest.
She scored a career-high 24 points in a win over Florida late in the season, and had three steals in Kentucky’s come-from-behind win at MSU in late February. Russell grew up in Baltimore and was a top-50 nationally ranked recruit coming out of St. Vincent Pallotti High School, according to ESPN’s website. She was a McDonald’s All-American in 2020.
The Bulldogs are losing point guard Lauren Park-Lane and presumably Mjracle Sheppard and Jasmine Brown-Hagger, both of whom are in the portal, from their backcourt. Russell should be a key piece in MSU’s guard rotation alongside Jerkaila Jordan, wings Debreasha Powe and Darrione Rogers and any other players Purcell and his coaching staff bring in.
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