Kierstan Bell
No. 1 Las Vegas Aces
PositionGuard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (2000-03-16) March 16, 2000
Alliance, Ohio, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight176 lb (80 kg)
Career information
High schoolCanton McKinley (Canton, Ohio)
College
WNBA draft2022: 1st round, 11th overall pick
Selected by the Las Vegas Aces
Playing career2022–present
Career history
2022–presentLas Vegas Aces
Career highlights and awards

Kierstan Bell (born March 16, 2000) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Las Vegas Aces in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Florida Gulf Coast and Ohio State.

College career

Ohio State

Bell was rated as the 6th overall recruit in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz and the 18th overall by ProspectsNation.com in 2019.[1][2] Bell signed to play with Ohio State out of high school.[3] Bell had an outstanding freshman season for the Buckeyes, being named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, Honorable Mention All-Big Ten Team, and 3-Time Big Ten Player of the Week.[4][5]

Following her freshman season, Bell announced that she was entering the transfer portal and leaving Ohio State.[6]

Florida Gulf Coast University

On May 5, 2020, Bell signed to continue her collegiate basketball career with Florida Gulf Coast.[7]

During her sophomore campaign, Bell produced the best season in program history for the Eagles. She averaged 24.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 2.3 blocks. She was named the ASUN Player of the Week 6 different times and named the ASUN Newcomer of the Week a record 10 times.[8] Bell was also named the ASUN Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year, WBCA Honorable Mention All-American, AP Honorable Mention All-American, and USBWA Honorable Mention All-American.[9][10]

Prior to her junior year, ESPN named Bell the 16th best women's college basketball player for the 2021–2022 season.[11] Bell averaged 22.8 points and 7.3 rebounds during the year, but also missed time due to a partial torn meniscus.[12] Bell also set a new ASUN record for the number of Player of the Week Honors during the season. On January 18, 2022, Bell was awarded the 11th Player of the Week honor of career.[13]

In January 2022, Bell announced she would be declaring early for the WNBA draft.[14][15] Bell was projected to go in the first round by multiple mock drafts.[16]

College statistics

Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Ohio State(Big Ten Conference)
2019–20 Ohio State 30 326 .394 .318 .667 4.4 1.6 1.2 0.9 10.9
Florida Gulf Coast (ASUN Conference)
2020–21 FGCU 26 632 .527 .358 .753 10.6 2.7 1.9 2.3 24.3
2021–22 FGCU 24 547 .471 .286 .702 7.3 2.5 2.1 1.8 22.8
Career 80 1505 .473 .321 .717 7.3 2.2 1.7 1.6 18.8

Professional career

Las Vegas Aces

In the 2022 WNBA draft, Bell was taken 11th overall by the Las Vegas Aces.[17]

Adelaide Lighting

Bell signed with the Adelaide Lighting for the 2022/2023 WNBL season, she was cut by Adelaide in December 2022.

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
Denotes seasons in which Bell won a WNBA championship

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2022 Las Vegas 2115.8.303.1361.0000.90.30.10.10.21.3
Career 1 year, 1 team 2115.8.303.1361.0000.90.30.10.10.21.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2022 Las Vegas 404.8.667.600.0001.30.30.00.00.52.8
Career 1 year, 1 team 404.8.667.600.0001.30.30.00.00.52.8

References

  1. "2019 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  2. "2019 Players". prospectnation.com. ProspectsNation. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  3. "No. 5 prospect Kierstan Bell commits to Ohio State". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  4. "2019-20 Big Ten Women's Basketball Honors Announced On BTN". bigten.org. Big Ten Conference. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  5. "KIERSTAN BELL". ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Ohio State Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  6. Harrison, Phil. "Kierstan Bell to enter transfer portal, leave Ohio State women's basketball program". buckeyeswire.usatoday.com. USA Today Sports. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  7. Huenefeld, Nicholas. "Bell Signs With Women's Basketball Program, Adds To Special Recruiting Class". fgcuathletics.com. FGCU Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  8. "KIERSTAN BELL". fgcuathletics.com. FGCU Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  9. "Bell Takes Top @ASUNWBB Honor; 2020-21 Postseason Awards Announced". asunspots.com. PrestoSports. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  10. "College basketball: FGCU's Kierstan Bell named Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of Year". naplesnews.com. Naples Daily News. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  11. Creme, Charlie. "Women's college basketball: Top 25 players for 2021-22". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  12. Barie, Sean. "FGCU star basketball player to miss time with knee injury". nbc-2.com. Waterman Broadcasting of Florida LLC. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  13. "Kierstan Bell Sets ASUN Record with 11th Career Player of the Week Honor". fgcuathletics.com. FGCU Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  14. Nemchock, Eric. "2022 WNBA Draft Watch: Early entry Kierstan Bell shaking up draft boards". swishappeal.com. Vox Media. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  15. Voepel, Mechelle. "Florida Gulf Coast junior guard Kierstan Bell says she will enter WNBA draft". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  16. Hardwig, Greg. "WNBA Draft: The next stop on Kierstan Bell's basketball journey will be in New York Monday". news-press.com. News-Press. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  17. "Former Ohio State Buckeye Kierstan Bell taken in WNBA draft's first round by Las Vegas Aces". dispatch.com. The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
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