6/12/2026 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
Share:
Versatile 6-2 sophomore brings experience from Florida, Team Canada
By: Paul Coro
It is peak weather season in Nyadieng "Nidi" Yiech's hometown of Calgary, Alberta, but she has made Grand Canyon her summer home for weeks ahead of the Lopes' team workouts later this month.
Since mid-May, Yiech chose to be at GCU to get to work, showing the drive and the ability that made Lopes head coach Winston Gandy and his coaching staff thrilled about her transfer from Florida.
Yiech, a 6-foot-2 wing sophomore, Â is long on potential and wingspan with a reputation as a player ranked No. 59 in the 2025 SportsCenter Next 100, comprised of the year's top college prospects, and extensive international experience with Team Canada's 18-and-under and 19-and-under teams.
"You look at people that we expect to move the needle in a big way, and she fits that bill," Gandy said. "She's very versatile. She has a very even keen personality, very humble. She's an awesome person who comes from a great family.
"When she came here and saw what we had to offer, it was different. She has aspirations to be a pro, and that is something I know we can help her do from here. When she met our staff and saw the kids we were recruiting, she realized this is where she wanted to be."
Yiech made an immediate impact at Florida as a freshman last season with 5.7 points (fourth on the team) and 3.3 rebounds (fifth on the team) in 15.9 minutes per game. She shot 48% from the field and 37% from 3-point range, including making all eight of her shot attempts against Samford to score 18 points in 15 minutes and recording a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds, four steals) against South Alabama.
"Versatility is a big one," Yiech said. "I have a lot of size and length. I can handle the ball, shoot the ball and also take advantage of mismatches and guard multiple positions. I feel like I have a lot of qualities people don't see in other players."
The international experience lessened the culture shock of a college transition for Yiech, allowing her to adapt quickly to the physical nature of SEC play. At Florida, she went head to head twice with a fellow SEC-to-GCU transfer, Ashlynn Chlarson, who played for Arkansas.
"Bringing that into this season, I just want to keep up my aggressiveness and physicality that way," Yiech said. "I love going to the rim. It's definitely one part of my game that I really like. A lot of teams put their post players on me, and I can take advantage of that. It's nice to be able to play inside and out. Having that versatile game makes it even more fun for me and my teammates."
    Fort Erie trio of Keana Foz,
     Maya Foz and Nidi Yiech
Yiech comes from the same high-level, Toronto-area prep program, Fort Erie International Academy, as two other GCU additions, Keana and Maya Foz. She goes back four years in the Canadian national program with Maya, but the trio has yet to play together because of the timing of injuries during Yiech's lone Fort Erie season with Keana.
The Foz sisters, as well as other future teammates, were part of the GCU package that enticed Yiech to Phoenix.
"Meeting the girls, they had a really good energy," Yiech said. "You could tell it would be fun to be around them as a group and as a team.
"Coach Winston seemed like a genuine coach. Coming on campus, I felt that I'd be take care of coming here. The coaches had a really good balance of care for their players, treating them as people and not just athletes. They harped on development, getting me better and getting me stronger."
Yiech already has found individual workouts to be more detailed, establishing mechanics that will match her game-like movements in footwork and shooting.
Basketball has been a life love for Yiech, growing up in Calgary with older brothers who played "and then I just ended up being the better out of the three."
That early combination of qualities and knowlege that was instilled in Yiech are coming through in her mature approach, whether it be taking greater pride in defense in recent years or moving onto GCU's campus for the summer because "I really like getting ahead."
"There's nothing she can't do on the floor," Gandy said. "I expect her to be a force to be reckoned with this upcoming year. She has the ability to make the game easier for others."
Â
