Central, SC – The Southern Wesleyan University women's basketball program is set to start the 2023-2024 academic and athletic season with seven newcomers. The class has two freshman and five transfers which come from six different states.
"We believe we brought in some high quality young women with this recruiting class," commented head women's basketball coach John Davis. "Our culture is centered on being Christ-like and these young ladies want to add value to that piece of our program. Personally I am excited to see this entire team take shape and build our program through Him."
The Warriors add two incoming freshman in Jordan Race (5'11", G/F, Wellington, Fla./The King's Academy) and S'Moriyah Rice (5'4", G, Duncan, S.C./Greer), along with transfers Kaliah Kendrick (5'6", G, Seneca, S.C./Seneca), Rahkhia Mack (5'8", G/F, Jersey City, N.J./Brookdale), Asia Pearly (6', F/C, Greensboro, N.C./UMES), Dynasty Shegog (5'10", F/C, Monroeville, Pa./California (Pa.)) and Taylin Smith (5'6", G, Beaverton, Ore./UNLV/Weber State).
The Warriors begin their season in Belmont, N.C. in the Conference Carolinas/SAC Challenge hosted by Belmont Abbey College. Southern Wesleyan will open up on Friday, November 10th against Emory & Henry College at 7 PM, followed by a Saturday, November 11th game against Mars Hill College at 2 PM. Below is additional information on each newcomer.
Jordan Race
Race was coached by her father, Chris Race, at The King's Academy in West Palm Beach, Fla. where she earned 1st Team All County and helped lead her team to a State Final 4 appearance. Race finished her career surpassing 1,000 career points, 600 rebounds, 250 assists and 200 steals.
Why SWU?
"I chose SWU because of the great environment and how supportive everyone was through every step of my recruitment and after that."
S'Moriyah Rice
Rice helped guide Greer High School to an 18-9 record her senior season, while averaging 5.6 points, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game during the campaign.
Why SWU?
"As a person who was struggling with religious belief, I felt like this was the right school to get me back on the right path personally. There is always a way when God is involved."
Kaliah Kendrick
Kendrick was with the Warriors last season as a practice player and will make the transition to a full participant this season. Kendrick was the 3A Region Player of the Year during her senior campaign and was 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 All State also during her time at Seneca.
Why SWU?
"You can feel Christ on campus and through students and especially teachers because of how supportive they are."
Rahkhia Mack
Mack comes to Southern Wesleyan after a successful stint at Brookdale Community College. She averaged 12.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 2.2 assists per game and was 1st Team Garden State Athletic Conference in 21-22 and 22-23. Mack was also NJCAA Region 19 1st Team in 21-22 and 22-23.
Why SWU?
"I chose SWU to further my academic and basketball career while guided by Christ."
Asia Pearly
Asia is coming to Central after she spent three seasons at NCAA Division I University of Maryland Eastern Shore, with one of those seasons being lost due to COVID-19. She played in 25 total games and shot 55% (22-40) in those contests, while averaging 1.3 rebounds per game. The Greensboro, N.C. native scored over 1,000 points in her high school career at Northeast Guilford.
Dynasty Shegog
Shegog is coming to Southern Wesleyan from California University of Pennsylvania where she spent two years. In high school, Shegog helped lead her team to a sectional championship. She earned 2nd Team All-Conference honors in 2019-2020 and 1st Team All-Conference in 2020-2021. Shegog averaged 13.8 points per game in her senior year, which helped her high school to another sectional championship.
Why SWU?
"I chose SWU for many reasons. One major stand out was on my visit the campus was beautiful. I could picture myself living here for the next two years. Also the environment, everyone was so nice and the resources for help on campus was amazing. Also, going to a school where everyone could openly express their love for God."
Taylin Smith
Smith comes to the Warriors after stints at NCAA Division I universities UNLV and Weber State and during her time at UNLV she was part of a team that won the Mountain West Conference Tournament and went to the NCAA Tournament. At Liberty High School in Oregon, Smith was back-to-back Pacific Conference 6A Player of the Year. She averaged 16 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game her senior year and helped lead Liberty to a pair of conference championship titles and a state semifinal appearance in 2020 while claiming first-team all-state recognition.
Why SWU?
"When choosing SWU I knew that I was going to be surrounded by people that loved Jesus. People who were going to lead me closer to Christ and help strengthen my relationship with him. SWU offers so many opportunities for me to grow my faith and create meaningful relationships. Being able to have an emphasis on my relationship with God while still being able to get good grades in the classroom and compete for championships was something that was really important to me."
