Provo • Former Maple Mountain High star Liz Eaton was hoping to continue her family’s legacy of excelling for the BYU women’s basketball team.
But after two disappointing seasons in the program, the highly recruited sophomore guard has decided to transfer.
Eaton, the younger sister of former BYU great Lexi Eaton Rydalch, has asked for and received a release from head coach Jeff Judkins, she said Wednesday.
“One reason is that I figured out my playing style just doesn’t fit with their system,” she said.
As a prep phenom, Eaton led the state in scoring in 2015 and 2016 before suffering an ACL injury before the state tournament her senior year, and she was still in recovery mode for most of her freshman season at BYU. She appeared in only 19 games and played only 64 minutes, averaging 1.2 points and 0.6 rebounds.
Despite being fully healthy this past season, she appeared in just 23 games and played 180 total minutes. She averaged 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds and didn’t play in two of the final four games, including the Cougars’ 61-56 loss to San Diego in the West Coast Conference quarterfinals.
“I am still not certain why I didn’t get more minutes,” she said.
Eaton said Judkins was “really understanding and classy and really supportive” and granted her an open release to transfer to any school she desires. If she transfers to another Division I school, she will have to sit out a year per NCAA transfer rules.
Eaton said she really doesn’t have a particular school in mind.
“When I graduated from high school I wanted to stay close to home and play in-state, but now I’m totally open,” she said. “I would love to play for any university that can use all my talents.”
