By Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Radford University has gained a pair of women’s basketball players. 5-7 guard Bailee Adkins and 5-11 forward Naja Ngongba. Adkins is transferring via the portal from the University of Dayton, and Ngongba will join the team as a preferred walk-on after graduating from Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge, Va..
Radford women’s basketball head coach Mike McGuire said about Adkins, “We are so excited to add someone of Bailee’s caliber at this point in the spring. I have watched Bailee compete on the travel circuit since she was in middle school. She is a great fit in terms of her passion for the game and expectation to win championships.
“Bailee is a competitor and a winner,” McGuire said. “All she has done throughout her young career is win at the high school and travel-ball levels. She is tough, plays fearlessly, and makes winning plays. She played at St. Joseph’s in West Virginia and for a great travel team program in the West Virginia Thunder. Bailee will be a combo guard for us, and I look forward to getting started with her this summer.”
“I chose Radford because I like the culture and atmosphere that the program offers and feel like it’s the best fit for me to grow as an athlete and student,” Adkins said.
The guard sat out her freshman year at Dayton as a medical redshirt recovering from a foot injury. She averaged 11.2 points, 5.4 assists, 4.2 steals, and 4.1 rebounds per game at Huntington St. Joe where she played with former Christiansburg High School standout Grace Hutson. Adkins was the 2019 Max Prep West Virginia player of the year. She also garnered all-state first team honors as both a junior and a senior.
McGuire also announced the signing of Naja Ngongba, a 5’11 forward from Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge, Virginia.
Ngongba led her team in blocked shots, finishing with 48 in her senior season. She was named Second-Team All-District and qualified for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Women’s AmeriCup games with the Virgin Islands National team. Ngongba was a silver medal recipient at the FIBA Centro games in March of 2021.
The Virgin Islands National team is coached by Ngongba’s mother, Tajama, who is a former head coach at Radford.
“I chose Radford because of the location, the great academics, and the wonderful number of people you can find on campus,” Ngongba said. “Along with that, the impeccable basketball program with such amazing teammates and coaches, who are like a family to me.”
