Kasiyahna Kushkituah

Position:
Center
Height:
6-4
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Atlanta, Ga.
High School:
St. Francis H.S.

CAREER HIGHS

* Indicates most recent high

Points: 19 // Auburn, 2/28/21
Rebounds: 13 // Georgia, 2/21/21*
Assists: 4 // Florida, 1/31/21
Steals: 2 // Ole Miss, 3/5/21*
Blocks: 4 // Vanderbilt, 1/30/20
Field Goals: 8 // Auburn, 2/28/21
3-Pointers: N/A
Free Throws: 4 // LSU, 1/10/21*
Minutes: 36 // Kentucky, 2/11/21

CAREER HONORS

SEC Academic Honor Roll -- 2020-21
SEC Academic Honor Roll -- 2019-20
Chancellor's Honors - Extraordinary Academic Achievement Award -- 2019-20

2020-21 - SENIOR

Played 100 career games as a Lady Vol, starting 23 and averaging 5.0 ppg. and 4.1 rpg.
Carded career-best season averages of 6.8 ppg. and 6.0 rpg., ranking fifth and second on the team, respectively, in 2020-21.
Scored in double figures six times and pulled down double-digit rebounds on three occasions as a senior.
Dropped a career-high 19 points and grabbed eight boards against Auburn in her final game on The Summitt.
Finished career with back-to-back 10-point efforts vs. Middle Tennessee and Michigan in the NCAA Tournament.
Had 10 points and eight boards vs. MT in the first round and 10 points and five rebounds vs. UM in the second round.
Went 10 of 16 from the field in those NCAA contests for 63-percent accuracy.
Tied her career high and led the team in rebounding at Georgia on Feb. 21, pulling down 13 caroms.
Tallied 11 points and six rebounds in victories over No. 13 Arkansas and No. 12 Kentucky.
Played well against No. 6/5 Texas A&M, grabbing 10 boards and scoring eight points vs. the Aggies.
Pulled down a (then) season-high 12 boards and scored eight points against Florida.
Went 6-of-9 from the floor for 13 points with four rebounds against UNCG.
Saw 15 minutes of action at No. 15 Indiana, pulling down eight key boards in the road win.

2019-20 - JUNIOR

Earned a bachelor's degree in May 2020 in hotel, restaurant and tourism management with a minor in business administration.
Averaged career season bests of 5.4 ppg. and 4.4 rpg. off the bench, seeing action in all 31 contests.
Shot 49.2 percent from the field for the season and 50 percent in SEC action.
Hit 58.0 percent at the charity stripe for the season, but demonstrated great improvement with 75 percent (18-24) accuracy in SEC play.
Scored in double figures five times during the year, including a four-game stretch in the non-conference portion of the schedule.
Produced a season-high 15 points and added six rebounds against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Had a strong effort in Tennessee’s win over Missouri during the SEC Tournament Second Round, scoring 13 points off 54.5-percent shooting (6-11) and pulling down seven boards against the Tigers.
Also tallied 13 points against Air Force, duplicating her 6-of-7 shooting performance from the game before vs. UAPB.
Went four of four from the floor against Stetson, finishing with 11 points and six rebounds.
Put up 11 points on 5-of-9 marksmanship and grabbed seven boards against Tennessee State.
Got her only start of the season in the opener at East Tennessee State, pulling down nine caroms and adding five points.
Matched her season best with a team-high nine boards against Texas while scoring seven points and dishing out two assists.
Led the team in rebounding at #1/1 Stanford, finishing with seven boards, five points and two assists.
Went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line while grabbing a team-high eight boards at #13/13 Kentucky.
Scored seven points on 75-percent shooting (3-4) from the field against Ole Miss.
Finished with seven points and five rebounds in the Lady Vols’ win at Florida.
Scored five crucial points to help UT secure a home win vs. Vanderbilt, adding two rebounds and a steal in nine minutes.
Turned in a career-high four blocked shots at Vandy while scoring six points and grabbing six rebounds.

2018-19 - SOPHOMORE

Appeared in 28 games as a sophomore, starting in 11 and averaging 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest.
Scored in double figures in six games, including four of the first five before a knee injury sidelined her for three games and set back the progress she had made.
Recorded the second highest field goal percentage on the team during the 2018-19 season at .519.
Led Tennessee in blocks in six different games and finished second on the team with 15 total.
Poured in a career-high 16 points against UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tallied 14 points and eight rebounds in a key home win against LSU during the regular season.
Recorded the first double-double of her career against UAB with 13 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots, helping UT claim the Junkanoo Division title at the Junkanoo Jam tournament.
She also had 11 points, six rebounds and a career-best two steals vs. Clemson in that same tourney in Bimini, Bahamas.
Netted 13 points against FAMU while also adding two rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot.
Made her first career start in the opener vs. Presbyterian, tallying 10 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and an assist.

2017-18 - FRESHMAN

Saw action in 16 games during the 2017-18 season, scoring in six and grabbing a rebound in nine.
Averaged 7.6 minutes per contest and tallied 1.8 ppg. and 1.4 rpg.
Connected at a rate of .650 from the field, hitting 13 of 20 shots.
Recorded a career-high 10 points in 15 minutes of action vs. Liberty during the NCAA First Round.
Played 18 minutes against Troy, logging six points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Netted four points at Florida.
Scored three points and pulled down five boards in 10 minutes of action against No. 18 Georgia.
Blocked three shots, scored four points and pulled down four rebounds during her Lady Vol debut against ETSU.

USA/AAU BASKETBALL

Participated in 2016 USA Women’s U18 National Team Trials.
Participated in 2016 USA Women’s U17 World Championship Team Trials.
Participated in 2015 USA Women’s U16 National Team Trials.
Played AAU ball for Finest Basketball Club Southeast Elite.

HIGH SCHOOL

Ranked No. 11 overall and the No. 1 post in the 2017 Prospectsnation.com Elite 150.
Ranked No. 57 overall and the No. 6 post in the 2017 HoopGurlz espnW Top 100.
McDonald’s All-American (2017).
Played in Jordan Brand Classic (2017).
WBCA Honorable Mention All-American (2017).
Naismith Honorable Mention All-American (2017).
Atlanta Journal Constitution Class A All-State First Team (2015, 2016. 2017).
Senior year stats included 12.5 ppg., 7.7 rpg. and 2.0 bpg., as St. Francis finished 26-5 and lost in the state semifinals.
As a junior in 2015-16, she averaged 10.6 ppg. and 8.2 rpg. to help her team to a 31-2 record and a state title.
As a sophomore in 2014-15, she averaged 11.5 ppg. and 8.6 rpg. to help her team to a 28-3 record and a state championship.
As a freshman in 2013-14, Kushkituah averaged 11.8 ppg. and 5.6 rpg. to help her team to a 25-4 record and the state championship game.
Played volleyball (four years) and soccer (1 1/2 years) in high school.

PERSONAL

Full name is Kasiyahna Mercedes Kushkituah.
Name is pronounced CASS-ee-YAW-nuh kush-KITTA-wuh.
Prefers to be called “Kasi.”
Born on Aug. 16, 1999, in Atlanta, Ga.
Mother is Talandra Echols, stepdad is Otis Wilson and father is Kaisim Kushkituah.
Has one Godsister, Daphne.
Uncle Quennon Echols played basketball at Murray State; and God-uncle Shareef Abdur-Rahim is a retired NBA player who was a 2000 U.S. Olympic gold medalist and 2002 NBA All-Star.
Big fan of Beyoncé and earned the nickname “Keyoncé” because of that affinity for the star and her propensity to sing while in the car.
Wears No. 11, because that is the age when she began to love basketball, and K is the 11th letter in the alphabet.
May 2020 graduate in hotel, restaurant and tourism management with a minor in business administration.
Earned a master's in communication and information with a concentration in journalism and electronic media in May 2021.
Recipient of the Doris Lewis Winners' Circle Scholarship For Centers.
Has her own YouTube channel: KasiUniquee
Follow @kasiuniquee on Twitter and on Instagram.