Deasia Merrill

Women's Basketball

Merrill Announces Homecoming to Join Panthers

Deasia Merrill is one of the highest rated players in GSU history.

ATLANTA – Deasia Merrill is joining the Georgia State women's basketball program after one year at Kentucky, the Villa Rica, Ga., native announced this week.
 
Merrill missed her freshman year at Kentucky due to injury and will have to sit out the 2020-21 season due to NCAA transfer rules but will have four years of eligibility remaining.
 
"We are excited to bring another Georgia native back home," head coach Gene Hill said. "Deasia was a player I recruited while I was at N.C. State and I feel that she is a perfect fit for our 4-out offense."

Hill has now brought in four Georgia natives from Power-5 programs in just two years.
 
Merrill is a 6-1 forward and was rated a four-star prospect by ESPN.com, ProspectsNation.com and All-Star Girls Report. ESPN.com ranked her as the 66th best player in the 2019 class and the eighth best forward.
 
She  was a three-time AJC First-Team All-State selection at Villa Rica H.S. and earned Class 5A Player of the Year honors as a senior, averaging 25.6 points per game with 15.4 rebounds per game, 6.3 assists per game, 4.2 blocks per game and 5.2 steals per game.
 
ESPN.com evaluated her as a "strong front court prospect that rebounds, handles and passes in transition." They also added that she is an "agile stretch-4 performer" who poses a "deep-range threat complemented by dribble-drive attack."
 
She helped guide Villa Rica to the GHSA Girls State Final Four her junior and senior years while the team made state tournament appearances her freshman and sophomore seasons.
 
Merrill was born in Carrollton, Ga. Her parents are Cornelius and Veronica Merrill and she has two siblings: Dessiah and Ladarius.
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