Eastern Kentucky University announced on May 12 that Michelle Ugwah, a 6-foot-1 forward from Cork, Ireland, has joined the women’s basketball team through the transfer portal. Head coach Greg Todd said Ugwah will be part of the Colonels’ roster for the 2026-27 season.
Ugwah arrives after playing the previous season at the University of San Francisco, where she averaged 4.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 21 games. Todd said, “Michelle brings us a skilled combination of size, toughness and international experience that we are excited to add to our program.” He added, “She has already proven she can compete at the Division I level at both San Francisco and Morehead State, and we feel her best basketball is still ahead of her.”
During her time with San Francisco, Ugwah contributed to advancing to the West Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals and securing a berth in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). She had two double-digit scoring games during that season: an 11-point, eight-rebound performance against Gonzaga on Jan. 29 and a game with 13 points on six-for-nine shooting at Santa Clara on Feb. 28.
In postseason play, Ugwah recorded a total of 18 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks across three conference tournament games against San Diego, Pepperdine and Santa Clara from March 6-8 in Las Vegas. She followed up with nine points in the WNIT opening round against Utah Valley on March 19.
Todd said about her playing style: “Michelle plays with tremendous energy around the basket, rebounds at a high level and gives us another physical presence in the paint.” He continued: “We believe she will make an immediate impact for our team and culture here at EKU.”
Before joining San Francisco’s program, Ugwah played two seasons at Morehead State University from 2023 to 2025. As a redshirt freshman during the most recent season there she started nineteen games while averaging seven-and-a-half points plus five-point-seven rebounds per contest.
Prior to college basketball in America she attended DME Academy in Daytona Beach Florida; internationally representing Ireland at FIBA’s Under-20 Women’s EuroBasket Division B Championship where she averaged nearly nine points along with more than seven rebounds per game—including an eighteen-point eighteen-rebound performance versus Croatia.
The Colonels recently captured their eleventh conference championship by winning Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season title for this year; they have also posted three consecutive twenty-win seasons—a first for their program—with Coach Todd named ASUN Coach of Year while four players earned all-conference honors including two first-team selections.
Ugwah is scheduled to report to campus this summer ahead of offseason workouts.
