Per GoBearcats:
University of Cincinnati women’s basketball head coach Katrina Merriweather announced on Friday the signing of sophomore transfer Destiny Thomas ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Thomas collected 2022-23 All-AAC Freshman Team honors at Memphis last season.
“Our staff is ecstatic for the opportunity to continue to coach and develop Destiny Thomas,” Merriweather said. “She has proven she has the toughness and physicality to compete with the best posts in the country. Destiny also brings a great defensive presence and rebounding ability; she has only scratched the surface of what she can become, and we couldn’t be happier that she chose to join our program.”
Thomas, a 6-4 center from Jonesboro, Ark., will have three years of eligibility remaining. She made 18 starts and appeared in all 33 contests for Memphis, averaging 4.7 points and 5.8 rebounds on a team-high 55.0 percent from the field, the program’s best season shooting percentage since 2017-18, in 19.3 minutes per game.
She totaled a team-high 103 offensive rebounds to bolster a unit that led the conference and ranked sixth nationally with 16.8 offensive rebounds per game. Thomas eclipsed double-digit rebounds in four games, including a career-high 11 rebounds twice, while her rebounding average ranked second among conference freshmen.
Thomas also scored in double figures in a pair of games, posting a career-high 11 points at Towson on Dec. 13.
An all-state selection for Jonesboro High School, Thomas led her team to a 2021 AHSCA 5A State Championship and two runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2022. She initially chose Memphis over offers from North Texas, South Mississippi and Arkansas State.
“This staff has become a family to me and being a part of the sisterhood is bigger than basketball,” Thomas added. “Joining this staff in Cincinnati was an easy decision because I know from first-hand experience that this staff has what it takes to compete at the highest level in the Big 12.”
