The coach says his recruit has tons of upside.
The recruit likes the fact she can play close to home.
The Thompson University Rivers WolfPack women’s basketball team in Kamloops has announced the signing of four high school players for the 2021-22 Canadian U-SPORTS season in the Canada West Conference.
Among the four recruits is Fulton Maroons power forward Nya Derkach, a six-foot-one forward from Vernon who was drawn to the WolfPack because of the athletics and smaller class sizes, as well as the fact the campus is only about 90 minutes from home.
“The women’s basketball program was really the selling point for why I chose to further my studies at TRU,” said Derkach, helping to coach the Fulton Grade 8 boys in training in this her final year of high school eligibility.
“Academically, I’m thrilled to be enhancing my learning with studying toward a bachelor’s degree in psychology. At the same time, I’m so happy to be an addition to the team and I look forward to strengthening my skills through the guidance of Coach Goran (Nogic).”
And the head coach is looking forward to working with Derkach.
“We believe she has a lot of potential to improve and that in the future, she can contribute to our team in many ways,” said Nogic. “Besides being a great student, she has great physical abilities which will help her improve her basketball skills.”
Joining Derkach at TRU are guard Jessica Orr, a hometown girl from Kamloops’ Valleyview Secondary; Claudia Muir, a small forward from St. Michael’s University School in Victoria; and guard Keerat Sidhu from Surrey’s Fleetwood Secondary.
Vernon Panthers alumnus Megan Rouault is in her fourth year with the WolfPack.
Canada West canceled men’s and women’s basketball for the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19.
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