Miller adds defensive presence Cooper

Grand Canyon head coach Molly Miller added another top-notch defender in point guard Callie Cooper to coincide with the Lopes' defensive scheme that finished top five nationally in steals per game in back-to-back seasons.

Cooper, a junior who spent the past two seasons at UC Santa Barbara, enters GCU with two years of eligibility left.

A product of Richardson, Texas, Cooper appeared in 45 games for the Gauchos and averaged 3.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 40% from 3-point range.

Cooper made a leap from her freshman year to sophomore year, when she averaged 4.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals per contest in 33 games. She led the Gauchos in steals with 43 last season, including three four-steal games that UC Santa Barbara won. Her defensive efforts led to All-Big West Defensive Team honors.

"Callie is a true point guard with an extremely high basketball IQ and facilitating mentality," Miller said. "She is a capable scorer, but with over 100 assists last season, she will be able to make an immediate impact on the floor by getting her teammates involved.

"Her tenacious defensive mentality earned her a spot on the all-defensive team and the way she pressures the ball handler is a beautiful thing to watch. I am extremely excited to introduce her into the system where she will no doubt make a big impact."

Cooper had three double-digit scoring games down the stretch of last season and shined at the free throw line, going 26 of 31 (83.9%) over her final 11 games. Her assist-to-turnover ratio last season was 1.3 to 1, which would have tied for seventh among all WAC players from last season's play.

Prior to college, Cooper attended Richardson High School near Dallas.

Cooper is not the lone All-Big West Defensive Team honoree to join the Lopes in recent days, as she joins Kristyna Jeskeova, who comes to GCU via Long Beach State. Along with Jeskeova, the Lopes have added Laura (San Diego) and Sydney (Arizona State), Shay Fano (Utah Valley) and Trinity San Antonio (California Baptist) as new signees for the 2023-24 season.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos