As the 2024-2025 season ends, the Gators women’s basketball team is already preparing for the year ahead. Although notable faces like Ra Shaya Kyle have left the program, five new ones are making their names known: Sarah Deng, Knisha Godfrey, Emilija Dakic, Caterina Piatti and Nyadieng “Nidi” Yiech.
Sarah Deng
Sarah Deng is a junior guard originally from Adelaide, Australia. She is transferring to UF after playing two seasons at Eastern Arizona Community College. Deng signed to the Gators as a top 25 JUCO player ahead of the 24-25 season.
Deng has been a leader on the court for EACC. During the 2024-2025 season, she was awarded the Co-D1 Defensive Player of the Year award and was named 2nd Team All-Conference for the ACCAC.
Congratulations to Sarah Deng for being named second team all ACCAC 💛💜 pic.twitter.com/gby0iGHeUc
— EAC WBB (@eacwbb) March 6, 2025
Knisha Godfrey
Knisha Godfrey is a senior guard from Columbus, Ohio. She began her college basketball journey at Mississippi State before transferring to TCU mid-year. Due to transfer rules, she sat out for the remainder of the 2021-2022 season.
Although she was injured for the 2023-2024 season, she checked into 15 games her junior year, tallying 25 points across 93 minutes on the court.
She announced her transfer to the University of Florida on Tuesday.
going homee!! #gogators 🥰🐊 pic.twitter.com/Ill39BrQx8
— Knisha Godfrey (@GodfreyKnisha) April 15, 2025
Emilija Dakic
Emilija Dakic is a freshman guard from Canberra, Australia. She was the first signee in coach Kelly Rae Finley’s 2025 recruiting class.
Dakic attends the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (CoE) and trained with the Southside Flyers, an elite basketball team competing in the Women’s National Basketball League. She is also part of the Australian U19 World Cup training roster.
Additionally, Dakic is a U/18 FIBA Asia Cup 2024 gold medalist and a two-time Casey Cavalier Junior of the Year (2018 & 2022).
Caterina Piatti
Caterina Piatti is a freshman forward from Scandiano, Italy. She is currently a player for Lupe Basket and is considered one of the top forwards in Europe.
Piatti was also a member of Italy’s U18 National Team. She credits her development as a versatile and agile player to her experience on a world stage.
Nyadieng “Nidi” Yiech
Nyadieng “Nidi” Yiech is a freshman forward from Ontario, Canada. She was the No. 77 ranked prospect for the 2025 recruiting class when she signed for the Gators ahead of the 2024-2025 season.
Yiech currently attends Fort Erie International Academy. She was a member of Canada’s U18 Women’s National team, where she helped take home a silver medal at the U18AmeriCup. Yiech also played for Become One Canada Elite and received the 2023 Canada Basketball Nationals First Team All-Star award.
The Future
The new faces will be led by standout guard Liv McGill as they prepare for the 2025-2026 season. The versatility and competitiveness of the five recruits combined with the experience of the returning players could push the Gators to the next level, slowly becoming the threat they wish to be in the SEC and women’s basketball overall.
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