Women's college basketball: North Ridgeville grad Isabella Geraci to use fifth year of eligibility at South Carolina Upstate

Isabella Geraci will be flying south next school year. After finishing her degree at Cleveland State, Geraci will use her fifth and final year of basketball eligibility at the University of South Carolina Upstate, a Division I program in the Big South Conference. "It was really a last-minute thing," Geraci said. "I was being patient with the process, trying to for sure figure out the right place. I was actually down in Florida and I got a call from Upstate and they were interested in me. I had drove down to Florida, so I stopped on the way back up for a visit. That initiative they took, they really wanted me to come here and see them, that drew them to me. I think what really sold me was their personability. The staff is who they say they are when they're recruiting. It was really cool how they were up front and real." Once the 2022 season ended, Geraci took time to consider her options for the fifth year of eligibility granted to all NCAA athletes stemming from the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. She graduated with a degree in marketing in the spring and was torn in how to use her final season — continue with basketball or return to her track roots as a high jumper. Geraci also was a standout track athlete with North Ridgeville, finishing fourth at the Division I state championship in the high jump. But in the end, basketball won out. "Originally going into college I also wanted to do track because Cleveland State also had recruited me for track," said Geraci, who will pursue her masters in business analytics. "I looked at it a little bit, but I was mostly getting back that I wasn't going to be offered any scholarship opportunities. Teams couldn't offer much for track — that's just how it is for that sport combined with the fact I hadn't jumped since high school. Plus, basketball was just eating at me. This is the sport I've done my entire life." Geraci played sparingly during her four-year tenure with Cleveland State, steadily earning more playing time throughout her freshman and sophomore years before breaking through by averaging 13.9 minutes in 22 games with four starts her junior year. Improvement to her outside shot — jumping to 39.3 percent from 3-point range her junior year — helped get her more consistent playing time. The Vikings won the WBI championship in 2021, the program's first postseason title. As a senior, she carved out a role as the team's defensive spark off the bench. She averaged 15.2 minutes and appeared in all 30 games, helping the Vikings to the No. 4 seed in the Horizon League Tournament and a spot in the championship game. Cleveland State fell just shy of an NCAA Tournament bid, losing to IUPUI 80-73. Based in Spartanburg, S.C., Upstate will look to Geraci and a handful of other transfers to help set the foundation for an overhauled roster. The team is coming off a 22-8 record and third-place finish in the Big South. However, the majority of that team won't be returning after last year's coach Becky Burke left for Buffalo in April, which caused most of the roster to transfer out of the program. With so many new faces, Geraci's experience will be invaluable to the team, and she's looking forward to helping it thrive. "The situation is pretty cool because we have an entire new team," Geraci said. "Everybody basically either transferred in or is a freshman. I think everybody is going to be on the same page, the coaching staff is going to be on the same page. It's just a great situation with great people. That's what got me here." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on Twitter.