FORT MYERS, Fla. – The seventh 2023-24 signee for the Florida Gulf Coast University women’s basketball team is official, as senior guard Sofia Persson (Arvika, Sweden/Lulea Gymnasieskola/Eckerd/San Francisco/Odessa) has transferred to FGCU. She is the third international player on the team.
“Sofia is a very talented and versatile guard. She is a very smart player with the ability to score and find open teammates,” said FGCU head women’s basketball coach Karl Smesko. “We’re really excited about her being a part of our team and believe she will be an excellent fit for how we play.”
Other new arrivals for the 2023-24 season are: senior guards Casey Santoro (Bellevue, Ohio/Bellevue High School/Kent State), Dolly Cairns (Saratoga Springs, New York/Saratoga Springs High School/Rhode Island), sophomore guard Ashley Baez (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Hyde School/Chipola College), graduate forward Ajulu Thatha (Indianapolis, Indiana/Decatur Central High School/SIU-Edwardsville), redshirt senior guard Alyssa Jimenez (Thornton, Colorado/Horizon High School/Nevada), and junior guard Macarena Retamales (Santiago, Chile/Liceo San Pedro Poveda High School/Florida SouthWestern).
At Eckerd College last season, Persson was the best scorer, averaging 17.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for the 26-6 Tritons. She started all 32 games, logging 1,157 minutes on the court. Persson made 120 of her 140 free throw attempts (.857), dished 115 assists and had 48 steals. Eckerd went 18-2 in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) and advanced to the championship game.
The previous season as a Triton she played all 26 games and averaged 13.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 35.4 minutes per game. She was selected to the All-SSC Newcomer team and second team. Persson’s .884 free throw percentage set a new single-season record. She was named SSC Defensive Player of the Week and SSC Player of the Week during the season. She scored a career-high 24 points in the opening game of the NCAA South Regional.
Before Eckerd Persson had stopped at University of San Francisco for one season after spending a season at Odessa College, where she averaged 9.7 points per game and 3.3 assists per game.
Before her collegiate years, she played in the European Girls Basketball League and for the U19 Swedish national team.
FGCU went 33-4 last season – winning its 13th ASUN Conference regular season title and 10th ASUN Tournament Championship along with earning a 10th NCAA Tournament berth.