VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman women's basketball coach Mike Mincey announced the signing of a pair of Tennessee guards to the program Tuesday afternoon. Ashton Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) and Briana Smith (Nashville, Tenn.) will join a Lady Eagle team that is returning the majority of their roster from an NCAA Tournament team.

"We feel extremely fortunate to get two quality guards in the late signing period," Mincey said. "Both of these players will add depth to the 1 and 2 spot and both can score. After what happened to us last season losing two players to injuries, I knew we needed to add depth not only to our point guards but also to our shooting guards as well."

Ashton Wykle – 5'4 – Guard – South Greene High School

In four years as a Rebel, Wykle poured in 1,445 points playing in 127 career games. Her senior season saw Wykle average 14.1 points per game, 3.5 assists per game, 3.2 steals per game and 2.8 rebounds per game. The Greeneville, Tenn. went 93-for-249 from three-point range in her senior campaign. She led the league in steals and assists in each of her final three seasons while leading the league in three-point percentage in her junior and senior seasons.

Wykle was part of district and regional champions while taking home a substate title earning All-District honors three times, All-Tournament team honors two times and an All-State honoree as a senior while winning Region MVP.

Coming from an athletic family, Wykle's father, David, played baseball at Tennessee Tech. Her mother, Tamara, was a basketball player at Tusculum. Her aunt, Sharee Southerland, played basketball and softball at Walters State while her uncle, Jason Southerland, played baseball at Walters State and Carson-Newman.

A member of the National Honor Society, Wykle also lettered in volleyball and softball. In volleyball, Wykle was a member of district and region championship teams all four years while finishing second in the state as a junior and third as a senior. She was an All-State selection while earning All-District and All-Region honors twice and being tabbed Region MVP. She was a two-time All-District pick in softball.

Wykle intends on majoring in physical therapy at Carson-Newman.

"Ashton is a player I've had my eye on for about 3 years now," Mincey said. "She has always played extremely hard and is a very heady player who has won a lot of games. Ashton will bring several different things to the table for us, but the fact she is a three-point maker is the most appealing to me. I feel like it's extremely hard to find really good shooters that can also do other things well. Ashton made over 80 three's her senior year at South Greene and as far as I'm concerned you can never have too many players that can shoot the 3 ball effectively."

Briana Smith – 5'6 – Guard – Martin Luther King High School

Smith was a four-year starter for the Lady Royals as the starting point guard racking up more than 1,500 career points. She was a four-time selection to the All-District regular season and tournament teams. During her junior season, Smith led her group to the program's first ever region championship and trip to the state tournament. As a senior, she helped her team win the school's first ever TSSAA Division I Class AA state title scoring 16 points and racking up six rebounds and three assists in a 58-51 victory over McMinn Central. MLK trailed by as many as 11 points in the second quarter in the comeback win as the Lady Royals finished the season 29-6.

Smith showed off her ability to convert at the foul line two games prior scoring a game-high 22 points in a victory over Cannon County going 16-for-17 at the charity stripe. She was a key contributor in a 69-57 win over Elizabethon in the state semifinals posting 20 points, five assists and two steals over the previously undefeated foe.

"Briana is primarily a point guard but can move over and play the two as well," Mincey said. "Like Ashton, Briana can shoot the three effectively but can also blow by defenders getting to the rim. Briana can score in transition and passes the ball well. I look forward to seeing Briana play in our fast paced, up-tempo style. Briana is also a very good free throw shooter which was evidenced in the state tournament as she helped carry her MLK team to a state title by going 35-39 in a three-game span. She also averaged 19 points per game in helping MLK to its first state tournament title."

Mincey wanted to bring in some skilled guards a year before he loses a duo of experience backcourt players.

"With nearly 75% of our scoring coming back from last year," Mincey said. "We wanted to address some depth issues for next year but go ahead and have players in place to potentially step in for Jai Jai McLaughlin and Tatum Burstrom when they graduate next May. We are still searching for another piece to add but if the right player doesn't come along then we are perfectly good to go with the 14 we have.  Everyone in the program is excited to build off our first NCAA tournament appearance in over 4 years and adding Jai Jai plus several key redshirts back to the mix will be exciting."

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