Pitt women’s basketball coach Lance White added the second member of his 2022 recruiting class Thursday, signing 6-foot-1 Avery “Ace” Strickland to a national letter of intent.

“She is ultra-competitive, has the pedigree of a winner, and is ready to work,” White said

Strickland is a two-time all-state choice from Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tenn., winning state high school sports Player of the Year honors as a junior in 2021.

During the 2021-22 season, Strickland led Farragut to the state championship game while scoring 31 points and recording nine rebounds in a semifinal victory. Overall last season, she averaged 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 48% from the floor and 33% from behind the 3-point arc.

“Avery is going to add to our overall size and brings versatility to our roster immediately,” White said. “She is known as a shooter, but she is so much more. She is long and creates problems for a defender on a closeout because she can take it off the bounce as well. Avery is a great fit for us here at Pitt.”

Strickland has shown her athletic versatility by winning a state softball championship as an outfielder and performing on the Farragut track team.

Strickland joins Chartiers Valley’s Aislin Malcolm in Pitt’s current signing class.

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