SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State received a National Letter of Intent from one of the top junior college players in the country Saturday when Ifunanya Nwachukwu (Ee-foo-nie-nyuh Nwah-choo-koo) pledged to join the Lady Bears for the 2021-22 season.

"I'm thrilled about the addition of 'Nanya,'" MSU head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. "Her sweet spirit and genuine soul shines through in every encounter!"

A 6-foot-2 forward from Lagos, Nigeria and Chipola College in Marianna, Fla., Nwachukwu is currently rated as the No. 12 overall and third-ranked power forward in the junior college ranks according to Dan Olson Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.

"On the court, she is a super athletic, hard-working post player who thrives in an up-tempo aggressive system," added Coach Mox. "She is an elite defender that has great rebounding and finishing capabilities but can also step out and shoot the 3. She has not yet fully tapped into her potential, which excites me for what is to come! A very bright future for this young lady."

Nwachukwu started all 51 games of her Chipola career, capping it with a national semifinal appearance in 2021 as the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament. She averaged 6.3 points and 7.4 rebounds with 15 blocks shots as a sophomore and posted averages of 5.0 points and 5.5 boards per game as a freshman. Nwachukwu scored in double figures eight times and had 13 double-figure rebound efforts in her JuCo career.

Prior to college, Nwachukwu participated in Basketball Without Borders in her native Nigeria, the NBA and FIBA's global basketball development and community outreach program.