Ohio State Women’s Basketball: Freshman Kierstan Bell transferring to FGCU

Ohio State’s talented three-time Ms. Basketball Kierstan Bell is leaving the Buckeyes and transferring to Florida Gulf Coast.

“Same me, new home.”  That was the line Kierstan Bell posted on her Twitter account on April 23, 2020.  She entered the transfer portal on March 25, 2020, as she will be transferring from the Ohio State Buckeyes’ women’s basketball program and heading to Florida Gulf Coast University.  She will have to sit out a season, per NCAA transfer rules.

Bell is a 6’1 guard out of Canton McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio our of the Stark County area.  She is Ohio’s only three-time Ms. Basketball and is the career scoring leader in Stark County history with over 2,800 points.  Bell was also a McDonald’s All-American.  At the time of this article it was unclear as to what if anything specific led to the transfer by Bell.

Kierstan showed major glimpses of her potential greatness in her freshman season at Ohio State.  She averaged 10.9 points per game, was the Big Ten freshman of the week three times, made the All-Big Ten Freshman Team, and was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection.

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women’s basketball program gets a versatile player with star potential.  Bell can shoot the three, run the floor, and bang down low for rebounds and blocked shots.  This past season FGCU went 30-3 and 15-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference.  The Lady Eagles went 15-2 at home, 11-1 on the road, and 4-0 on neutral sites. The team had key wins over programs like Notre Dame, Houston, South Florida, and Duke.

By the time Bell is eligible to hit the floor again, this time down in Flordia, she will have two more years of eligibility remaining to make the impact on the college women’s game that she was expected to make coming out of high school.