6/3/2020 basketball Edit

WBB: Grad-Transfer Ellie Mack Excited For New Adventure At Oregon State

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

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It's not common for the Oregon State women's basketball program under head coach Scott Rueck to take new players via the grad-transfer route, but former Bucknell forward and reigning Patriot League Player of the Year Ellie Mack is the exception.

"I'm very excited! It was a long process for me with the number of people that reached out to me, but I'm very happy I chose Oregon State," Mack said. "It's going to be an adventure that's really outside my comfort zone given that I've lived my entire life on the east coast, but I believe in Scott and the program. I'm super excited to be a part of it."

Following the high turnover that the Beavers had this offseason with graduations and the transfer of Destiny Slocum, OSU needed another veteran presence in Mack and that's exactly what they got.

"I have a lot of experience and that's where I think I'll help the most. We've had some good teams at Bucknell and I'm hoping to transfer a lot of that experience. I want to be a positive voice in this era."

Mack is coming off a career at Bucknell that saw her reach the All-Patriot League First Team twice, while also leading the Bison with 15 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She shot 50.7 percent from the floor on the year, including an impressive 43.2 percent from beyond the arc, and hit 81.5 percent of her free throw attempts.

With the Patriot League having a rule in place that doesn't allow for fifth-year seniors or grad-transfers to participate in sports, Mack knew that she was in need of a home for her final season and Rueck sold her on having a brand new outlook on the game.

"Scott really sold me on having this new experience. I've lived on the east coast and have played east coast basketball my whole life, and the Pac-12 offers a new style, new players, and a new opportunity to learn. Also, the success and support that OSU women's basketball gets are amazing and people really care about women's basketball in Corvallis."

The 6-foot-3 Mack has scored a total of 1,058 career points, despite missing her entire freshman season due to injury. She helped the Bison to three-straight Patriot League titles and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019.

It's still to be determined when Mack is going to arrive in Corvallis with the current restrictions in place, but as soon as she gets the all-clear, she can't wait to be a Beav.

"It's still sort of up in the air when I'm going to get there, but I want to be there as soon as possible. I'm super excited to meet everyone in person and get to know everyone and the Corvallis area. I'm super pumped!"