JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head women's basketball coach Mike Mincey announced the signing of a pair of transfers for the 2017-18 season.
Mincey announced that he has signed Kelci and Kayla Marosites, both of whom transfer to Carson-Newman from East Tennessee State.
The pair will each have three years of eligibility remaining.
"Getting the Kayla and Kelci is a huge pick-up for our basketball program," Mincey said. "They have accomplished a lot in their careers and hopefully there is a lot more they can accomplish at Carson-Newman as we add them a talented roster."
The twins guided Elizabethton High School to the TSSAA Class AA State Championship in 2014. During their sophomore and junior seasons, the Cyclones won 52 straight games with their help. As seniors, Elizabethton tallied a 33-1 record.
"Anyone that's familiar with Kayla and Kelci and what their teammates accomplished at Elizabethton know the talent we have coming to Mossy Creek," Mincey said. "Having a year of playing and practice experience at ETSU is only going to help them with their transition to C-N. They have always been surrounded by great coaches and it shows in the way they play."
In her freshman season at ETSU, Kelci registered a career-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field vs. Western Carolina on January 21. Meanwhile, Kayla scored six points vs. No.13 Tennessee. She scored a career-high eight points twice doing so against Winthrop and Elon (all of her points against the Phoenix came in the fourth quarter).
"They are great students, have a good head on their shoulders and will represent our school and program the right way," Mincey said. "As a coach, you can't help but be excited about what the future holds for our program, but being good on paper and being good on the court are two different things. Hopefully this infusion of talent will collaborate well with the returnees and they can do some special things."
Kayla was a two-time TSSAA Class AA Miss Basketball, only the 16th player in the 31-year history of the award to win back-to-back awards. In her high school career, she averaged 22.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game. She was named MVP of the 2014 TSSAA Class AA State Tournament and garnered All-Region, Conference and District honors all four years of her high school career. Kayla was named District and Region Player of the Year honors in 2014 while surpassing the 1,000-point plateau in her sophomore season. She finished her high school career with 2,250 points.
Kelci was a three-time All-Region, Conference and District player and came out of high school as the fourth ranked guard in the state of Tennessee by MaxPreps. She eclipsed the 1,000-point mark during her junior season. In 2014, Kelci garnered All-Upper East Tennessee honor. For her high school career, she averaged 15 points, three assists and three steals while shooting 43 percent from beyond the three-point line. Kelci scored more than 1,500 points in her high school career.
The twins join a 2017-18 recruiting class of Addison Byrd and Madison Bunch. Byrd and the Marosites twins are all at least two-and-half star recruits according to ProspectNation.com. Byrd and Kayla both garnered three stars from the service.
"This continues our desire as a program to recruit the best local talent," Mincey said. "Obviously we want the best talent we can get nationwide, but it's so much more fun when that nationally recognized talent comes from our own backyard."
