The Australian influence within the Husker women’s basketball program grew a little more on Tuesday.
Former Oregon guard and Moe, Australia, native Jaz Shelley announced on Twitter that she would be transferring to Nebraska for the upcoming season.
🌽 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/EbtmaeInJY
— Jaz Shelley (@JazShelley) April 13, 2021
Nebraska announced the addition on Friday. With the NCAA’s recent approval of a blanket waiver making first-time transfers eligible immediately following the move, Shelley will be able to play right away for the Huskers next season. She has three years of eligibility.
“We are extremely excited that Jaz is going to be part of our Husker family,” said coach Amy Williams in a release. “We got to know Jaz really well during her initial recruiting process before coming to the United States from Australia. We think she is a great fit for our program and we can’t wait for her to get here and start growing with us.”
Shelley played two seasons for the Ducks, with a particularly strong freshman campaign in 2019-20.
She played in all 33 games and earned an honorable mention on the Pac-12 All-Freshman team. She only made one start, but it was a memorable moment. Against UC Riverside on Dec. 16, 2019, Shelley drilled 10 of her 14 triples and poured in 32 points.
The 10 made 3s broke an Oregon program record, and the 32 points were the most by a true freshman in a game since the 2013-14 season. She scored in double-figures on five other occasions that first season while shooting 42% from 3 off the bench.
As a sophomore last season, Shelley played in 22 of the Ducks’ 24 games, making 11 starts. Her numbers dipped year-over-year—she scored in double-figures only three times—but her minutes fluctuated significantly throughout the season. In a game against USC on Jan. 1, she played 30 minutes and scored 13 points; two weeks later she played just 13 minutes.
She missed Oregon’s first two games of the NCAA Tournament due to injury before making her first career appearance in the Big Dance in a Sweet Sixteen matchup with No. 8 Louisville, recording an assist and a steal in five minutes of action.
Shelley joins fellow Aussies Ruby Porter and Issie Bourne on the Husker roster, and a backcourt that should return everyone from this most recent season. Center Kate Cain, the only senior on last season’s team, is the only Husker to publicly announce she won’t return to the team next year. Nebraska is also adding two freshmen guards, including Allison Weidner, who ESPN ranked the 80th overall prospect in the 2021 recruiting class.
Shelley, at 5-foot-9, will give NU another 3-point weapon and a player who can handle the ball.
The Huskers finished the 2020-21 season 13-13, losing in the second round of the WNIT to Colorado on March 20.
Derek is a newbie on the Hail Varsity staff covering Husker athletics. In college, he was best known as ‘that guy from Twitter.’ He has covered a Sugar Bowl, a tennis national championship and almost everything in between (except an NCAA men’s basketball tournament game… *tears*). In his spare time, he can be found arguing with literally anyone about sports.
