Funda Nakkasoglu to leave Utah State women’s basketball team

Sophomore guard Funda Nakkasoglu will not be returning for her junior season with the Utah State women’s basketball team a source close to the team confirmed Wednesday.

The Utah State athletic department confirmed the news on Thursday.

“Funda and I talked at great length over a two-day period. With the blessing of her parents, she has decided to pursue other basketball options,” said Utah State head coach Jerry Finkbeiner in press release. “We wish Funda the very best. I look forward to the continued progress and evolution of our women’s basketball program here at Utah State.”

Nakkasoglu met with Finkbeiner this past week to tell him the news, the source said. The next day, Finkbeiner called a team meeting to tell them as well.

“It has been a hard decision, weighing all the factors. In the end, I decided to test myself in a different setting,” Nakkasoglu said in the press release. “My thoughts will be with the team and all the good people I met here in Logan. It has been an invaluable experience overall.”

According to the source, the team was not surprised by the decision.

Nakkasoglu was reportedly unsatisfied with the coaching style at Utah State and the pressure she felt on the court to score, especially in crucial situations.

“In every single game, she was expected to make things happen,” said the source, who went on to explain that they felt Nakkasoglu was pressured too much.

She averaged 20.8 points per game this past season, was the leading scorer in the Mountain West and 21st in scoring nationally. She also led the conference in free-throw percentage at 87.9 percent, good enough for ninth in the nation, and was ranked No. 4 nationally in free-throws made with 197.

Nakkasoglu came to USU as a freshman from Hampton, Victoria, Australia and was named the 2014-15 Mountain West Freshman of the Year.

Along with Nakkasoglu, sophomore guard Baylee Peck will not be returning next season according to the source. Those two absences — along with the spot left by graduating senior Mariah Miles and injured freshman Victoria Price — will leave a big hole in USU’s backcourt.

More information will be added to the story as it becomes available. Check www.usustatesman.com for updates.

— paige.a.cavaness@aggiemail.usu.edu

Twitter: @ususportspaige