WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 17, 2018) – Central Missouri Jennies Basketball Head Coach Dave Slifer is pleased to announce the signing of Division I Transfer Morgan VanHyfte.
 
VanHyfte spent two years at Illinois State, playing as a freshman in 2016-17 and redshirting in 2017-18. She will have three year remaining years of eligibility.
 
"Morgan is someone who we think can come in and immediately fit in with our program and the rest of the team," said Coach Slifer. "She has tremendous intangibles and size as a 6-0 guard/forward. She'll bring versatility on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor."
 
Before Illinois State, VanHyfte was a standout performer at Annawan High School in Annawan, Ill. She helped Annawan to a 113-21 record in her four years and a state championship in 2014. As a senior in 2016, VanHyfte was an Illinois Basketball Coaches Association First Team and AP First Team All-State selection. She was also the Western Illinois Player of the Year.
 
In her time at Annawan, VanHyfte scored 1,901 points. She is the all-time assist and steals leader and also pulled down 769 rebounds and produced 24 double-doubles.  VanHyfte was a four-time all-conference selection as Annawan won four conference and three sectional championships.
 
Some of those intangibles are VanHyfte's smarts and leadership. She is a 3.5 GPA student and an All-Academic selection in high school. She was also the team captain both at Annawan and for her AAU team, the Chicago Illinois Elite. Playing with AAU coach Tom Hohenadel, VanHyfte led the Elite to a state championship in 2015.
 
As a freshman at Illinois State, VanHyfte played in 23 games during the 2016-17 season. She was 16-for-36 from the field including knocking in four three-pointers. She also grabbed 13 rebounds, six offensive, handed out four assists, blocked four shots and picked up two steals. 
 
VanHyfte isn't the only athlete in her family. Both of her parents, Ted and Val, played collegiately at the Division I level. Her father played at Wake Forest and her mother at Bradley. She also has an older sister, Celina, who currently plays for Southern Illinois and a younger sister, Jayde, who has committed to play at Arizona State.
 
"One of the things about Morgan that really stands out is her background and her family," said Slifer. "Not only is she a winning player, but with the family culture we are creating at UCM, she'll be a perfect fit coming from her own competitive basketball family."
 
Morgan will be joining the Jennies in the fall of 2018 and will be studying Pre-Law.