MORGANTOWN — It was a molding that pretty much began from the first day Sydney Shaw stepped foot on the WVU campus last year, after she transferred from Auburn.
The book on Shaw was offensive. Not that she offended anyone, but rather her basketball potential was always seen as someone who put points on the scoreboard.
This was what ESPN’s recruiting evaluators wrote about her when Shaw was ranked as the No. 50 overall high school prospect in the nation in 2022:
“Athletic lead-guard with a scoring punch in the back court; emerging half-court game, handles in transition, reads the defense and distributes; knocks down jump shots in the mid-range game; savvy playmaker; continues development into an elite guard.”
What was left out – Shaw’s ability to play defense – was exactly what WVU head coach Mark Kellogg was looking to bring out of her.
“We knew she could already shoot and she could score,” Kellogg said. “Where we had to put the work in was whether or not she could defend and could she play in our style of defense? Would she be willing to work really hard on that part of her game? The idea was to use her skills and athletic abilities to make her a more complete player.”
Shaw’s been with Kellogg for a year now. She’s about to begin her senior season when the Mountaineers open the 2025-26 season by hosting Purdue Ft. Wayne at 7 p.m. Monday inside the Hope Coliseum.
How much difference can one year make? That was the question posed to Shaw.
“It’s night and day from last year,” she said. “There’s some uncertainty going into any season, but I know basically what I can bring. I feel a lot more confident.”
In her first season at WVU, Shaw made strides on the defensive end of the floor. Her 57 steals at WVU surpassed what she had during her first two seasons at Auburn combined. Her rebounding totals went up and her offensive stats weren’t bad, either. She averaged 11.4 points per game and led WVU with 67 3-pointers.
The goal now for WVU and Shaw is to bring it all together. The offense. The defense. The confidence and athletic ability. Combine it all and unleash it alongside senior point guard Jordan Harrison, the emergence of sophomore center Jordan Thomas and a host of talented transfers to see if the Mountaineers have a third consecutive NCAA tournament run in them.
“So, you’re saying she needs more shots, right?” Kellogg jokes.
To a degree, sure, but Shaw’s importance on both sides of the floor for WVU has jumped significantly from last season.
“She took a step up a year ago, but her role will change this year,” Kellogg said. “The scouting reports are going to start with her and Jordan (Harrison). They were our double-figure scorers. Sydney does have ways to be creative offensively. She can score it all three levels. She has the ability to shoot the three, pull up and hit from the mid-range or can get to the rim.”
The Mountaineers begin this season ranked just outside of the top 25, according to the AP preseason poll. They were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12. Much of that stems from the graduation of star guard J.J. Quinerly, who is now in the WNBA.
What few voters and coaches realize, though, is Shaw is poised to pick up a bulk of the slack.
“With J.J. gone, that’s more touches for me,” Shaw said. “If I wasn’t capable, I don’t think I’d be put in a position to do that.”
Purdue Ft. Wayne finished 27-9 last season and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals. The Mastodons saw its entire starting five graduate from that team and head coach Maria Marchesano rebuilt through a mixture of transfers and incoming freshmen.
Kellogg said the emphasis for his team was more about continuing to build chemistry, while also strengthening its rebounding game and full-court pressure defense.
“It’s so much about us right now that we haven’t thought a whole lot about other teams,” Kellogg said. “That’s no disrespect to the other teams. It’s just that we still have so much that we have to get in.”
