NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State women's basketball head coach Kristen Gillespie has announced the addition of former Michigan Tech guard Ella Mason (Negaunee, Michigan) for the 2026-27 campaign.
"We are extremely excited to welcome Ella to our program," Gillespie stated. "She is a talented scorer who can create for herself and others. Her competitive edge makes her an ideal fit in our culture."
Mason comes to Illinois State from Michigan Tech, where she appeared in all 29 games with 27 starting assignments as a sophomore during the 2025-26 season. She led the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game, while shooting 40.9 percent from the field and draining a team-best 58 three-pointers. In the final game of the season, Mason scored a career-high 30 points at Northern Michigan which gave her seven games on the year scoring 20 points or more. As a freshman during the 2024-25 season, Mason played in 28 games for the Huskies averaging 13.2 minutes per contest. She averaged 4.7 points and 1.1 rebounds per game and scored in double-figures five times, including 15 points at Lake Superior State.
During her prep career at Negaunee High School, Mason helped lead the Miners to three Mid-Peninsula Conference championships, while earning U.P. Dream Team and Mid-Peninsula Conference Player of the Year honors. Mason was also widely regarded as one of the most gifted scorers in Upper Peninsula basketball history, as she became Negaunee all-time leading scorer and surpassed Tyler Jandron's previous school record of 1,334 points to become the program's overall all-time leading scorer. Mason continued to add to that total while leading the Miners to the state semifinals before Detroit Edison ended Negaunee's outstanding 26-2 season.
Mason will be joined on the Redbird roster by fellow transfers Hannah Chicken (Portland State) and Chloe Spreen (Indiana) and four high school standouts as newcomers. The transfer duo also joins an exciting group of returners for Illinois State next season, including MVC assists leader Trista Fayta and Nevaeh Thomas, who returns for her senior campaign. Illinois State tallied a 24-14 record and advanced to the WNIT Championship game, earning a postseason bid for the sixth consecutive season and a 20-win campaign for the fourth straight year.
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