MIAMI (May 14, 2020) – FIU women's basketball head coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley announced the signing of English guard Kyla Nelson as she is set to join the Panthers in the fall. 

"I've had the pleasure of knowing Kyla and her family since my time at Boston College," Coach Burks-Wiley said. "I couldn't have been happier when our stars aligned and it allowed me the opportunity to coach her. Kyla's ultra competitiveness and ability to score the ball makes her a welcomed addition to our family."

Kyla Nelson, a 5-11 guard from Worthing, England, joins FIU after spending three seasons at the University of Pittsburgh. As a freshman, Nelson appeared in all 30 games averaging 4.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Her stat line saw improvements during her sophomore campaign as she posted 6.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 40.4% from behind-the-arc. During her final season at Pitt, Nelson played four games with the Panthers. 

Prior to her collegiate career, Nelson was captain of the Great Britain Senior Women's national team and led the squad to a fifth place finish at the 2016 FIBA U20 Women's Division B European Championships in Podgorica, Montenegro. She was also the captain for Great Britain's U18 national team in 2015. Nelson played her high school basketball career at Oaklands College where she led the team with 16.1 points per game while averaging 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 2016-17. She was named to the 2017 Women's Elite Academy Basketball League (WEABL) All-South First Team. In addition, she helped Oaklands reach an undefeated season in 2014-15 and capped the campaign with the Women's National Trophy and was named Most Valuable Player of the 2015 championship game.

FIU enters its first season in the Burks-Wiley era, as she becomes the eighth coach in the program's history. Burks-Wiley joins the Panthers after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the South Florida Bulls. FIU will be the sixth coaching stop for Burks-Wiley, as the former professional forward has spent time at Nebraska-Omaha (2012-13), UMass-Lowell (2013-14), Brown (2014-16), Boston College (2016-17) and USF (2017-20).

During her three seasons on Jose Fernandez's staff at USF, Burks-Wiley and the Bulls won 64 games and earned two postseason berths with a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and the WNIT in 2019. The highlight year for Burks-Wiley and the Bulls came in her first season on the staff, as USF went 26-8 in 2017-18. The 26 wins for USF were the third-most of Fernandez's 20-year tenure.

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