MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As one of 10 new additions to the West Virginia roster, Khyala Ngodu finds herself in a relatively similar position to many teammates.
It’s one the 6-foot-3 senior doesn’t mind after transferring from Central Florida, where she played each of the previous three seasons.
“I feel like I’m a pretty social person, so getting to know new people, I was excited for it,” Ngodu said. “It’s nothing new. With the new day and age and the college space that we’re in, I was on a new team pretty much every year. It was something I was used to doing and I’m excited, because they’re good people.”
Ngodu has spent the better part of the last month growing acclimated to new teammates and surroundings as well as a system she was largely unfamiliar with outside of opposing WVU four times in three seasons with the Knights.
UCF lost all four of those contests and a fifth last season in Morgantown that Ngodu missed with an injury.
But WVU got a first-hand look at what she’s capable of considering Ngodu totaled 21 points and nine rebounds against the Mountaineers last season, as well as 14 points and seven boards as a sophomore in a matchup with West Virginia..
In one of two games against WVU as a freshman, Ngodu narrowly missed out on a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds.
“Some of them got us pretty good and that’s why they’re here,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said of his team’s addition through the transfer portal. “They seem to really enjoy it. All the things we tried to tell them in the recruiting process are happening. Even to see the amount of media that can cover us, and the passion that this state has for their university and the women’s basketball program is coming to light.
“I know they’ve all said they’ve never been on a team with this much talent, so I think they’ve enjoyed having this much talent around them, and now it’s on us to kind of piece it together. I haven’t been surprised in a negative way at all. All of them have been what I thought or even exceeded what I was expecting on June 25.”
Ngodu is one of five new WVU players standing between 6-1 and 6-7, and with a surplus of experience in the Big 12 Conference, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native hopes to show she can be a pivotal part of a winning program.
“Just being dominant, being a force inside, being a consistent option,” she said. “Defensively, being an interior force and making it not easy for anybody to come into the paint. Better on-ball defense and definitely running the floor in transition.”
She was plenty impactful over three seasons with the Knights, playing in 84 games, starting 56 and averaging 7.9 points and 6.2 rebounds for her UCF career while shooting 50 percent from the field and just north of 69 percent from the free-throw line.
Last season, Ngodu posted career-high averages of 10.8 points, seven rebounds and 1.3 blocks and earned All-Big 12 honorable mention status.
“I’m versatile and agile. I can stay in front of the ball, especially against post players,” Ngodu said. “Use my speed against bigger defenders and against smaller offensive players, I can use my height and length. My ability to alter shots and block shots is definitely something I can add.”
While at UCF, Ngodu was part of three losing teams and the Knights finished 35-54 in her time there.
She’s now part of a program that is 78-23 since Kellogg took over, less than four months removed from a Big 12 Tournament Championship and with one win in the NCAA Tournament in each of his three seasons.
The latter feat occurred last season at Hope Coliseum when WVU was a No. 4 seed and knocked off Miami Ohio before falling to Kentucky, 74-73. A sellout crowd was on hand for both games.
“You could feel the energy through the screen,” Ngodu said. “It was something that looked like an amazing experience and I’m excited to be able to experience the same thing here.”
Part of Ngodu’s adjustment process is adapting to Kellogg’s preferred style. While the fourth-year WVU head coach has yet to install the trademark full court pressure that’s a staple of his teams, that will come in the near future — and it’s not the only noticeable difference she’ll be asked to adjust to defensively.
“They like to push to the baseline. That wasn’t something that I was taught. They’re a little more aggressive on defense,” Ngodu said. “We were taught to be in the gap. Just breaking those old habits, and being patient with myself about it being early and kind of getting into the new things that they want to be on the same page with so I can be on the same page with the rest of the team.”
Offensively, Ngodu strives to be a reliable post presence. The Mountaineers return only two players, both of which are guards, off last season’s 28-win team. That means the front court additions will surely have their fair share of opportunities to be impactful.
“You have to be able to hold your ground,” Ngodu said. “We have Zack [Allen], our strength and conditioning coach, who’s been great helping me with managing my body and getting my weight where I want it to be, and getting that core strength as a post player to be able to finish through contact. That’s going to be huge.”
Ngodu also has something else to consider as she works to grow comfortable as a Mountaineer.
Having played three seasons across three years, Ngodu would be eligible for a fifth year of competition and second at WVU if she so chooses under a new rule approved by the Division I Cabinet that permits student-athletes up to five years of eligibility if they’ve enrolled in college no later than the academic year after their 19th birthday.
“I’ve definitely thought about it. It’s something that me, my family and my agent are definitely going to have a conversation about,” Ngodu said. “I’m seriously considering it for sure.”