Ole Miss Women's Basketball Officially Signs Sought-After SEC Transfer

Yolett McPhee-McCuin and Co. sign a coveted SEC guard, heading to Oxford for 2025-26 season.

Mar 22, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Denim DeShields (0) drives to the basket past California Golden Bears guard Kayla Williams (4) during the first quarter of an NCAA Tournament game at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss women's basketball continues to reload for the 2025-26 season, as head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin announces the addition of Denim DeShields from Mississippi State on Friday.

"Denim is exactly what we needed as we round out our roster," said McPhee-McCuin. "She is intelligent, a competitor and now has SEC experience that will be vital to our success."

Starting in all 34 games, DeShields averaged 5.7 points and 3.2 assists as the Bulldogs' primary point guard. The senior transfer set a season-high 15 points against Florida after tying her career-high of four made 3-pointers.

She also anchored the Bulldog defense to 21 forced turnovers against the Gators, tallying a career-high five steals.

Prior to her time in Starkville, DeShields started 61 of 63 games over two seasons at UAB.

The Atlanta, Georgia, native was a two-time All-Conference selection over two different conference affiliations, earning a spot on the 2023 Conference USA All-Freshman Team and the 2024 American Athletic All-Conference Third Team.

Leading the AAC with 5.3 assists per game in 2023-24, DeShields averaged 13.4 points on a 42.5 clip from the field. The guard's 170 assists during her sophomore season is the fourth-best single-season total in program history.

Additionally, throughout her first two seasons, she led the Blazers in assists per game and finished in the top two in average points.

Rated as a three-star prospect and the 20th-overall point guard in the 2021 class by espnW HoopGurlz, DeShields attended La Lumiere School for a prep season prior to playing collegiately, where she averaged 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

Her high school years were played at McEachern High School, where she earned many accolades, including being named to the 2021 Georgia High School Association (GHSA) 7A First Team, the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) All-State team and the 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Honorable Mention 7A All-State Team.

DeShields' best season came during her junior year, as she averaged 16.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game.

DeShields is the eighth newcomer joining the Rebels next season, alongside transfers Latasha Lattimore from Virginia, Jayla Murray from Wichita State, Tianna Thompson from Georgia Tech, Cotie McMahon from Ohio State, Debreasha Powe from Mississippi State, Desrae Kyles from Central Michigan and incoming freshman Lauren Jacobs.

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