FORT MYERS – Florida Gulf Coast University women’s basketball head coach Karl Smesko announced July 30 the addition of Milan Schimmel (Umatilla Tribe) to the 2021-22 roster. The 5-foot-8 guard played at the University of Cincinnati last year and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Schimmel started 12 of 14 games played last year, averaging 5.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest. She saved her best for the postseason, posting 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists against Memphis in the first round of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) tournament. Overall, she shot .462 from 3-point range for the season.
“Milan is a talented and versatile player,” Smesko said in a statement. “She is a great shooter, has really good court vision and rebounds very well for her position. She fits in very well with our style of play.”

Schimmel tallied a season-high 11 rebounds against Houston on March 2 and finished the season with seven games of at least five rebounds, including each of the final five games. Among her 14 contests, she tallied nine games with at least four assists, including every one during a six-game stretch to close the season where she averaged 6.2 per contest.

Prior to Cincinnati, Schimmel spent one season apiece at Eastern Florida State College and Hutchinson Community College. At EFSC, she averaged 14.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game while starting all 30 games and leading her team to a 23-7 record. She posted five double-doubles, scoring in double-figures 25 times and notching four 20-point outings. She recorded a season-high 25 points against Northwest Florida State and pulled down 18 rebounds against Hillsborough.

In the 2018-19 campaign, Schimmel led Hutchinson to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Final Four. Along the way, the Oregon native started eight of 37 games played, averaging 6.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Schimmel is a graduate of Nixyaawii Community School on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon, where she helped her team to a state runner-up finish as a senior.

Schimmel’s older sisters – Jude and Shoni – drew a big following in Indian Country when they starred at the University of Louisville. They helped the Cardinals reach the NCAA championship game in 2013.