Georgia Southern head women's basketball coach Hana Haden has finalized the roster for the Eagles, adding a talented transfer class for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Coming to the 'Boro to play for the Eagles in year two of Coach Haden's tenure are: Wingate transfer Lia Anderson (6-1, F, LaPlace, La.); Presbyterian transfer Kishyah Anderson (5-10, G/F, Phoenix, Ariz.); Paris (Texas) JC transfer Nevaeh Brown (5-10, G, Columbia, Md.); North Carolina Central transfer Kyla Bryant (5-7, G, Salisbury, N.C.); Georgia Southwestern State transfer Destiny Garrett (5-4, G, Bessemer, Ala.); Yavapai (Ariz.) JC transfer Courtenay Lee (6-4, C, Mesa, Ariz.); Presbyterian transfer Laney Scoggins (5-11, F, Leland, N.C.); and Saint Francis (Pa.) transfer Destini Ward (5-8, G, Baltimore, Md.). Local product Armani Cooke (5-9, G, Statesboro, Ga.) will also be joining the squad as a walk-on.
"I want to commend my staff for an impressive recruiting class," Coach Haden said. "Particularly our lead recruiter, Dexter Jenkins. We were looking to add players with experience, versatility and alignment with our vision for the program. I believe our staff did an incredible job identifying and signing student-athletes with those characteristics. We are very excited about the combination of this 'portal class' with our four returners and two outstanding incoming freshmen."
The Eagles return four players from last season's squad that notched a pair of wins in the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Championships for the first time in program history - Shanti Simmons, Jamiria Jones, Liv Fuller and McKenna Eddings - and announced the addition of two incoming freshman in the Fall, Kayla Cleaveland and McKayla Hosley.
Read all about the new incoming players to the Eagles below!
Lia Anderson
6-1, Jr., Forward
LaPlace, La.
Hillside HS / Wingate
Played for two seasons at Wingate University … Played in all 27 games, starting 25, as a sophomore in 2024-25 … 2x SAC Player of the Week honoree … Averaged a team-leading 12.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game … Scored a career-high 33 points vs. Anderson (SC) on December 4 … Had a double-double with 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds vs. Fayetteville State on Nov. 13 … Notched seven double-doubles and 19 games of double digit scoring … Played in all 32 games as a freshman in 2023-24, averaging 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game … Scored 520 points and grabbed 395 rebounds in two seasons for the Bulldogs ... Played at Hillside HS in Durham, N.C. … Averaged 10.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game as a senior.
Coach Haden: "Lia is a dynamic post presence who has put up impressive numbers in her first two years of collegiate basketball and has been a contributor to a winning program. She is very good at using her length and athleticism to run the floor as well as create opportunities in the half court. She will help us replace significant rebounding and paint points. I'm really excited to see her continue to grow and develop here at Georgia Southern."
Kishyah Anderson
5-10, Sr., Guard/Forward
Phoenix, Ariz.
Shadow Mountain HS / Presbyterian
Played for one season at Presbyterian College in 2024-25 … Averaged 15.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 0.7 blocked shots per game … Earned second-team All-Big South Conference honors … Led the Big South in field goal percentage … Reached double figures in 21 games, including eight games of 20+ points … Scored a career-high 40 points vs. Gardner-Webb on March 1 … Played for two seasons at Yavapai College in Arizona from 2022-24 … Earned second-team All-Conference and All-Region honors as a sophomore in 2023-24, averaging 16.2 ppg, 2.4 apg and 1.5 spg … Averaged 15.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.5 apg and 1.9 spg as a freshman in 2022-23, earning first-team All-Conference and second-team All-Region honors … Has scored 1,382 points in her collegiate career (451 PC, 931 Yavapai) ... Played for four years at Shadow Mountain HS in Phoenix, Ariz. … Averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game as a senior.
Coach Haden: "Kishyah is a prolific scorer who uses her strength and versatility to create mismatches and scoring opportunities. She is very dangerous in the mid-range and attacking the basket and she has the ability to be a double double machine. Her experience and ability to put up double digit numbers will be very valuable to our team."
Nevaeh Brown
5-10, Soph., Guard
Columbia, Md.
Old Mill HS / Paris (Texas) JC
Played one season at Paris Junior College in Texas in 2024-25, after redshirting the 2023-24 campaign … Averaged 15.0 points and 1.7 steals per game … Knocked down 122 of 305 three-pointers (40%), which ranked second in NJCAA for three-pointers made … Also ranked 28th in three-point percentage … Hit a school-record 11 threes vs. Ranger College on Dec. 3 … Reached double digit scoring in 24 games ... Played for four years at Old Mill HS in Millersville, Md. ... Averaged 16 points, four rebounds and 3.2 assists per game as a senior ... Earned All-County honors as a junior and a senior ... Played club for DC Premier.
Coach Haden: "Neveah proved to be one of the top shooters in the NJCAA last season making 122 threes while shooting 40%. She is obviously a huge threat from three which will help create great spacing for our team. She was the focal point of lots of scouting reports last year which pushed her to find ways to get better and we are confident she'll do the same here in Statesboro."
Kyla Bryant
5-7, Jr., Guard
Salisbury, N.C.
Salisbury HS / North Carolina Central
Played for two seasons at North Carolina Central from 2023-25 … Earned second-team All-MEAC honors as a sophomore in 2024-25, averaging 13.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.3 apg and 1.1 spg … Ranked 7th in the MEAC in scoring, fifth in assists, fourth in free throw % and first in minutes played per game (36.3) … Two-time MEAC Player of the Week … Earned third-team All-MEAC honors as a freshman as well as a spot on the MEAC All-Rookie Team in 2023-24, averaging 11.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.2 apg and 1.7 spg … Registered NC Central's first triple-double in its DI history with 21 points, 10 assists and 10 steals vs. Mid-Atlantic Christian on Nov. 17, 2023 ... Two-time Central Carolina Conference Player of the Year at Salisbury HS ... Scored 17 points to lead Salisbury over Farmville Central 54-44 in the 2023 N.C. state 2-A championship game ... Central Carolina Conference & Salisbury High School Female Athlete of the Year (2023).
Coach Haden: "Kyla brings incredible experience and scoring prowess to our program. She has the ability to play multiple positions and is very good at creating scoring opportunities for herself and others. She is a player that makes those around her better."
Destiny Garrett
5-4, Grad., Guard
Bessemer, Ala.
Pleasant Grove HS / Georgia Southwestern State
Played for three seasons at Georgia Southwestern State (2022-25) … 2024-25 First Team All-Peach Belt Conference honoree … 2x WBCA/D2CIDA National Player of the Week ... WBCA DII Honorable Mention All-American … 3x PBC Player of the Week … 2025 PBC All-Tournament Team honoree 2023-24 Second Team All-Peach Belt Conference honoree … Averaged 18.1 ppg and 6.4 apg in 2024-25 … Ranked 4th in NCAA DII in assists and assist/gm … All-time assist leader at GSW … Played for two seasons at Wallace State from 2020-22 … Career collegiate numbers: 1,414 points (11.0 ppg), 587 rebounds (4.6 rpg), 443 assists (3.5 apg), 178 steals (1.4 spg) in 128 career games ... Played for Pleasant Grove HS, where she earned third team All-State honors as a senior … Averaged 14 points, three rebounds and 4.1 assists per game as a senior … Played club for the Alabama Lynx.
Coach Haden: "Destiny is a jet quick, experienced point guard who has the ability to score at all three levels and puts a ton of pressure on opponents' defense both in transition and in the half court. She is very good at pushing the pace in a game and has shown her ability to impact the game in a variety of ways with multiple triple doubles last year."
Courtenay Lee
6-4, Jr., Center
Mesa, Ariz.
Mountain View HS / Yavapai (Ariz.) JC
Played for two seasons at Yavapai JC in Arizona ... Played in 19 games, starting 18, as a sophomore in 2024-25 ... Averaged 9.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and a team-leading 2.4 blocked shots per game ... Played in all 30 games for the Roughriders as a freshman in 2023-24, starting in 21 … Averaged 5.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and a team-leading 1.8 blocked shots per game ... Scored 357 points, grabbed 341 rebounds and blocked 99 shots over her two seasons ... Played for four years at Mountain View HS in Mesa, Ariz. ... Earned second team All-Region honors in 2021-22 ... Region Defensive Player of the Year in 2022-23 ... Averaged 9.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game as a senior ... Also competed in volleyball ... Played club for Team Arizona.
Coach Haden: "Courtenay has a versatile skill set for her size with her ability to step out and shoot the mid-range and adds some much needed height and length to our roster. She also brings rim protecting and rebounding ability. I believe her best basketball is ahead of her and am really looking forward to seeing her continue to develop in our program."
Laney Scoggins
5-11, Jr., Forward
Leland, N.C.
Hoggard HS / Presbyterian
Played for two seasons at Presbyterian College ... Played in 27 games, starting 18, as a sophomore for the Blue Hose in 2024-25 … Averaged 3.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game … Scored a season-high 14 points at South Carolina State on Nov. 8 … Grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds at Gardner-Webb on March 1 … Played in 30 games as a freshman in 2023-24, averaging 1.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game ... Played at John T. Hoggard HS in Wilmington, N.C., as well as North Brunswick HS in Leland, N.C. … Reached the 1,000 point milestone during her high school career … Two-time All-State and four-time All-Conference honoree … Averaged 17 ppg and 9 rpg as a senior.
Coach Haden: "Laney is someone who is willing to do everything that doesn't show up on the stat sheet. While she is a capable scorer and a very good rebounder, it's her ability to see the floor, make reads, set screens and be a leader that I'm most excited about. She has won a conference championship and understands what winning is about."
Destini Ward
5-8, Jr., Guard
Baltimore, Md.
Western Tech / Saint Francis (Pa.)
Member of the Saint Francis (Pa.) women's basketball squad from 2022-25 .... Started 22 games as a sophomore in 2023-24, averaging 11.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game ... 3x NEC Prime Performer honoree ... Scored her career-high of 19 points twice; vs. Wagner on 1/6 and at FDU on 1/15 ... Played in all 29 games as a freshman in 2022-23, making 17 starts, and averaged 7.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game ... Has 20 career games of double digit scoring and one double-double ... Scored 455 career points in two seasons at SFU ... Played for four years at Western Tech in Baltimore ... Rookie of the Year in 2018-19 ... 2x Baltimore County All-Division Tea (2020, 2022) ... First-team All-County, All-County All-Star and Team MVP in 2022 ... Ranked No. 1 shooting guard in Prep Girls Hoops Maryland 2022 recruiting class.
Coach Haden: "Destini is a very athletic and versatile guard who has a great resume in her first two seasons. She has shown the ability to score, distribute and defend at a high level. She has worked extremely hard this past season while redshirting to rehabilitate from her injury and we are excited for her to get on the floor for the Eagles."
Armani Cooke
5-9, Jr., Guard
Statesboro, Ga.
Bulloch Academy / Georgia Southwestern State
Played for two seasons at Georgia Southwestern State from 2023-25 ... Saw action in five games as a freshman in 2023-24, notching two points, two assists and six rebounds ... Played in the 'Canes season opener as a sophomore vs. Florida Tech, scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds in 14 minutes of action .... Also ran cross country for the 'Canes ... Earned 2x All-State and 2x All-Region honors at Bulloch Academy in Statesboro … Averaged 19.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game as a senior … Averaged 17.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game as a junior … Scored more than 1,000 points in her high school career … Played club for Essence.
Coach Haden: "Armani is a guard with the ability to shoot the three and put the ball on the floor. I watched her grow and develop as a freshman at GSW and always appreciated her work ethic and team first mentality. She will be a great fit for our culture and I'm excited to bring her back home to Statesboro."
