Former Ole Miss Rebel Christeen Iwuala Signs Deal with Washington Mystics

OXFORD, Miss. — Former Ole Miss Rebel forward Christeen Iwuala has signed a contract to join the Washington Mystics of the WNBA.

Iwuala, a six-foot-three forward from San Antonio, TX, has spent the last two seasons with head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and the Rebels. In her senior season in Oxford, Iwuala averaged 12.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. She shot 60.1 percent from the field, an incredible percentage for a player to make. Iwuala is as effective a scorer as you will find, as she rarely takes bad shots.

Iwuala originally played at UCLA. There she was, with her best season with the Bruins being 3.7 points and three rebounds per game in her sophomore campaign. There has been steady improvement for Iwuala every year in college, going from 2.9 points to 3.7 points to 6.8 points, culminating in an explosion, averaging 12.5 points this past season in Oxford.

Iwuala is a little undersized, but that didn’t stop her, as she regularly bullied people on the inside with relative ease. She was a physical presence in the paint and a big deterrent for other teams, making them think twice about driving into the paint. Overall, Iwuala is a very complete big at this point in her career. Coach Yo has helped develop her into a menace and a player who will make an impact, no matter what her role is at the next level. Her final collegiate achievement came after Ole Miss was eliminated in the postseason. She won the Lilly Women’s College All-Star Game MVP.

As announced on Thursday, April 16, Iwuala has signed a deal that will see her rejoin Cotie McMahon on the Mystics’ roster. Not only does she join McMahon, but she is also now on a team that, with her, now has four former Rebels. Madison Scott and Shakira Austin are also on the squad, as the Mystics have seemingly become the Washington Rebels.

Iwuala joins a team that currently has nine forwards on its roster. There is certainly a log jam on the front court, but her toughness should go a long way in helping her make the roster. Iwuala’s signing marks the third player from last year’s squad to make the WNBA, with McMahon getting picked by the Mystics in the first round, and Latasha Lattimore getting selected by the Chicago Sky in the second.

At this point, Coach Yo might need to buy a house in the nation’s capital with how many of her former players are now on that team. Congratulations to Christeen!