MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University women’s basketball head coach Mark Kellogg has announced the addition of Feryal Defne Atli (Mersin, Turkey) to a grant-in-aid for the 2024-25 academic year.
“We are thrilled to add another versatile piece to the program in Defne,” Kellogg said. “She comes to Morgantown with a ton of international experience. She is a skilled post player who has the ability to score with her back to the basket or stretch out a defense to the three-point line.
“Defne has a nice feel for the game and has a good basketball IQ. She has a knack for rebounding the ball and will make an impact in the post for many years to come.”
The 6-foot-3 forward/center comes to Morgantown with multiple years of experience representing the Turkey National Team at international championships.
“I felt really comfortable with coach Kellogg and the rest of the coaching staff,” Atli said. “This is a great opportunity to play a role on a championship caliber team.”
This year, Atli was the youngest and only 17-year-old to be selected for Turkey’s 2024 U20 National Team. She was also tabbed the captain of the U18 roster which represented Turkey at the 2024 FIBA European Championship in Portugal.
Alti played on Cankaya University Sports Club where she was teammates with former WNBA players Brooke McCarthy, Shatori Walker and Nathalie Fontaine. She was selected as the MVP of the Turkish U19 league.
Her play also led Ari College to a High School National Championship with her team representing Turkey at the ISF World Championships in Macao, China. Atli led the league with 11.8 rebounds per game and an 18.8 efficiency rating, averaging 13.9 points per game. She was selected MVP of the Turkish Championship game with 20 points, 19 rebounds,3 assists, 2 blocks and a record 34 efficiency rating.
She led the U19 Turkish League in rebounds three seasons in a row.
Atli is the daughter of Erhan Atli and Guler Ersan. She plans to major in Health Sciences at WVU.
