Cal women’s basketball recruits 2nd 5-star this week, forward Ugonne “Michelle” Onyiah
After a commitment from 5-star forward Fatou Samb last Friday, Cal landed its second 5-star recruit for the class of 2020 last night in Ugonne “Michelle” Onyiah.
The 6’3” forward plays for the Cal Sparks club and attends Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Eastvale, California. Her quick athleticism and high potential will be a useful addition for the Bears next year. She’s ranked 34th overall in her class by ESPN and ninth-best at her position.
A June 2019 evaluation says Onyiah is an “Athletic interior prospect with a high ceiling; quick in the paint, aggressive on the glass brings emerging offensive arsenal to the paint; superb in transition game; defends in the block; a potential power-5 star.”
Onyiah was considering other schools including Arizona, Duke, Louisville and Florida.
After former head coach Lindsay Gottlieb left to become the assistant coach of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, new head coach Charmin Smith has proven herself more than capable of upholding Cal’s standard of great recruiting. With the first two commits of the Charmin Smith era being 5-star recruits, the future looks bright for Cal women’s basketball.
Benjamin Coleman covers women’s basketball. Contact him at bcoleman@dailycal.org.