12/17/2018 basketball Edit

JMU Dismisses Kelly Koshuta

Former 5-star recruit and Virginia Tech transfer, Kelly Koshuta, was dismissed from the JMU women’s basketball team after playing in two games this season.

Shane Mettlen • DukesofJMU

Staff

Covering JMU basketball and other sports.

HARRISONBURG — James Madison redshirt junior forward Kelly Koshuta has been dismissed from the Dukes women’s basketball team, according to JMU coach Sean O’Regan.

Koshuta, a 6-2 post player capable of stepping out and knocking down 3-pointers, was not with the team Monday when it suffered a one-point loss at Wake Forest. It was the seventh consecutive game without the Vienna native who was a preseason second-team All-CAA pick after averaging more than 12 points per game last season.

“We have a standard of which I expect each of our student athletes to live up to,” O’Regan said. “Kelly didn’t meet that standard.”

A five-star recruit coming out of high school, Koshuta played one full season with the Dukes after transferring from Virginia Tech. In two games this season she averaged 12 points and 4.5 rebounds.

The Dukes felt the loss of Koshuta Monday at Wake Forest. Starting forward Kayla Cooper-Williams played just eight minutes saddled with foul trouble and junior forward Devin Merritt was forced to play a season-high 35 minutes.

But O’Regan said after seven games, JMU had already gotten used to the idea of playing without Koshuta.

“Our team did a good job of saying this is the reality of our team right now, let’s just go out and play,” he said.