University of Minnesota Athletics
Deja Winters Joins WBB Roster
5/21/2021 3:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota women's basketball head coach Lindsay Whalen has announced that Deja Winters has signed a financial aid agreement to join the Golden Gophers program.
A Cleveland, Ohio, native who graduated from Richmond Heights High School, Winters is a 5'11 guard who spent the last two seasons at North Carolina A&T after playing at Seton Hall as a freshman and sophomore. She will join Minnesota as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility.
"Deja is someone who brings valuable experience to our program," Whalen said. "She's an efficient shooter and has good length at her position. I'm really excited to add depth to our team, especially along the perimeter, with someone of Deja's ability."
Winters played in all 17 games for the Aggies this past season with 11 starts. She finished second on the squad with 14.1 points per game and led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 3-pointers made and attempted (52-120), and 3-point percentage (34.7). Her 3.06 3's made per game also led the MEAC and ranked 12th nationally. She had 11 games this year with double-digit scoring, including eight with at least 20 points. For her efforts, she was named First Team All-MEAC and a Second-Team All-American by BoxtoRow.com.
Her biggest moment of the season came in the MEAC Tournament championship game when she made a go-ahead 3-pointer with just 3.0 seconds left, sending North Carolina A&T to the NCAA Tournament.
As a junior, Winters played in 28 games with 12 starts, averaging a team-high 11.8 points along with 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest. She was second in the conference in 3-point percentage (33.5), third in 3-pointers made (61) and made per game (2.18) and fifth in 3's attempted (182). She reached double figures in 17 contests, reaching the 20-point mark on three occasions, including a career-high 27 points at Clemson on Dec. 20, 2019.
While at North Carolina A&T, she averaged 12.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals per contest. She shot 39.3 percent from the field, 34.0 percent from 3-point range and 78.6 percent on free throws.
Winters sat out the 2018-19 season after transferring from Seton Hall.
In her sophomore season with the Pirates, Winters played in all 32 contests with six starts. She played 13.9 minutes per game, averaging 4.6 points and 1.8 rebounds. That came after a freshman campaign where she posted 5.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 20.7 minutes on the court. Twice she was named the Big East Freshman of the Week.
In her four seasons of competition, Winters has played in 102 games with 33 starts and averaged 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.1 assists while shooting 33.0 percent on 3-pointers and 74.6 percent on free throws in 21.3 minutes of action.
Coming out of Cleveland, ESPN rated Winters a 3-star prospect with a 90 percent scout grade. All-Star Girls Report ranked her No. 186 and Collegiate Girls Basketball Report ranked her No. 131. As a senior, she was the News-Herald Player of the Year, Associated Press Division IV Player of the Year, a finalist for Ohio Ms. Basketball Award and a USA TODAY Second Team Ohio All-State honoree as she averaged 27 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals per game during her final campaign.
She helped lead Richmond Heights to its first district title as a junior, averaging over 20 points per game and eclipsing the 1,000 career point mark during her junior season. She was named Division III All-District Player of the Year, All-District and All-Ohio and named to Cleveland.com Honorable Mention All-State list.
Winters will be joining a Minnesota squad that is set to return 12 of 13 members from last season. She'll be one of four newcomers to the program along with fellow graduate transfer Bailey Helgren and incoming freshmen Maggie Czinano and Alanna Micheaux.
A Cleveland, Ohio, native who graduated from Richmond Heights High School, Winters is a 5'11 guard who spent the last two seasons at North Carolina A&T after playing at Seton Hall as a freshman and sophomore. She will join Minnesota as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility.
"Deja is someone who brings valuable experience to our program," Whalen said. "She's an efficient shooter and has good length at her position. I'm really excited to add depth to our team, especially along the perimeter, with someone of Deja's ability."
Winters played in all 17 games for the Aggies this past season with 11 starts. She finished second on the squad with 14.1 points per game and led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 3-pointers made and attempted (52-120), and 3-point percentage (34.7). Her 3.06 3's made per game also led the MEAC and ranked 12th nationally. She had 11 games this year with double-digit scoring, including eight with at least 20 points. For her efforts, she was named First Team All-MEAC and a Second-Team All-American by BoxtoRow.com.
Her biggest moment of the season came in the MEAC Tournament championship game when she made a go-ahead 3-pointer with just 3.0 seconds left, sending North Carolina A&T to the NCAA Tournament.
WBB / NCA&T 59. - Howard 57 Final . Lady Aggies win the MEAC Crown pic.twitter.com/atGu5hqrDm
— N.C. A&T Athletics (@NCATAGGIES) March 14, 2021
As a junior, Winters played in 28 games with 12 starts, averaging a team-high 11.8 points along with 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest. She was second in the conference in 3-point percentage (33.5), third in 3-pointers made (61) and made per game (2.18) and fifth in 3's attempted (182). She reached double figures in 17 contests, reaching the 20-point mark on three occasions, including a career-high 27 points at Clemson on Dec. 20, 2019.
While at North Carolina A&T, she averaged 12.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals per contest. She shot 39.3 percent from the field, 34.0 percent from 3-point range and 78.6 percent on free throws.
Winters sat out the 2018-19 season after transferring from Seton Hall.
In her sophomore season with the Pirates, Winters played in all 32 contests with six starts. She played 13.9 minutes per game, averaging 4.6 points and 1.8 rebounds. That came after a freshman campaign where she posted 5.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 20.7 minutes on the court. Twice she was named the Big East Freshman of the Week.
In her four seasons of competition, Winters has played in 102 games with 33 starts and averaged 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.1 assists while shooting 33.0 percent on 3-pointers and 74.6 percent on free throws in 21.3 minutes of action.
Coming out of Cleveland, ESPN rated Winters a 3-star prospect with a 90 percent scout grade. All-Star Girls Report ranked her No. 186 and Collegiate Girls Basketball Report ranked her No. 131. As a senior, she was the News-Herald Player of the Year, Associated Press Division IV Player of the Year, a finalist for Ohio Ms. Basketball Award and a USA TODAY Second Team Ohio All-State honoree as she averaged 27 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals per game during her final campaign.
She helped lead Richmond Heights to its first district title as a junior, averaging over 20 points per game and eclipsing the 1,000 career point mark during her junior season. She was named Division III All-District Player of the Year, All-District and All-Ohio and named to Cleveland.com Honorable Mention All-State list.
Winters will be joining a Minnesota squad that is set to return 12 of 13 members from last season. She'll be one of four newcomers to the program along with fellow graduate transfer Bailey Helgren and incoming freshmen Maggie Czinano and Alanna Micheaux.
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