Program Fit Report — Nikki Pearce, Class of 2028

Which programs inside four hours project a frontcourt opening in her class, cross-checked against a real athletic-training pathway

The player, as the profile states her

Class / height2028 · 6'0" (profile) / 6'1" (per Jennifer)
PositionSmall & Power Forward; profile text also describes guard/wing
High schoolChiles High School, Tallahassee — Coach Mike Quiggans, 850-509-3732
ClubTallahassee Thunder — Coach Ryland Moore, 850-321-1882
Academics3.85 unweighted / 4.16 weighted, Honor Roll
Contactnicolepearceclark@gmail.com
FilmFieldLevel profile

Strengths as listed

1

Write these first

Realistic level, a projected frontcourt opening in her class, a genuine athletic-training pathway, and a published email to aim at.

Columbus State University

D2 · 165 mi · ~2:45 from 32312

17 on roster4 forwards/posts1 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
HIGH — 4 forwards/posts on a 17-player roster, only 1 of them an underclassman who is still there in 2028-29
Athletic training pathway
BS Kinesiology + MS Exercise Science; the school explicitly positions Exercise Science as its pre-athletic-training track
Who to write
Matt Houser, Head Coach — houser_matt@columbusstate.edu · 706-562-1588

University of West Florida

D2 · 196 mi · ~2:55 from 32312

14 on roster7 forwards/posts2 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
MODERATE-HIGH — 7 bigs but only 2 return for her arrival year
Athletic training pathway
BEST ON THE LIST — CAATE-accredited MS in Athletic Training in house (Andrews Institute partnership), so the 3+2 path never leaves campus
Who to write
Ashley Brown, Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator — abrown9@uwf.edu

Georgia College & State University

D2 · 210 mi · ~3:39 from 32312

10 on roster5 forwards/posts2 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
MODERATE-HIGH — small 10-player roster, 5 bigs, 2 returning
Athletic training pathway
CAATE-accredited MS in Athletic Training in house, plus BS Exercise Science underneath it
Who to write
Catrina Green, Head Coach — catrina.green@gcsu.edu · (478) 445-1788

Edward Waters University

D2 · 166 mi · ~2:29 from 32312

17 on roster8 forwards/posts0 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
HIGHEST STRUCTURAL NEED ON THE LIST — 8 forwards/posts, none of them underclassmen. That frontcourt turns over completely before she would arrive
Athletic training pathway
Not verified — worth asking about directly
Who to write
Eric Jackson, Jr., Head Coach — e.jackson2@ew.edu
2

Strong second wave

Right level and a real need, with either the major or the contact detail slightly weaker.

Auburn University at Montgomery

D2 · 190 mi · ~3:16 from 32312

13 on roster7 forwards/posts1 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
HIGH — 7 bigs, 1 returning underclassman
Athletic training pathway
Not verified
Who to write
Ashlee' Phillips, Head Coach — aphill36@aum.edu · 334-244-3366

Tuskegee University

D2 · 184 mi · ~3:25 from 32312

17 on roster5 forwards/posts1 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
HIGH — 5 bigs, 1 returning underclassman
Athletic training pathway
Not verified
Who to write
Chiante Wester, Head Coach — cwester@tuskegee.edu

Georgia Southwestern State University no published email

D2 · 120 mi · ~2:10 from 32312

11 on roster4 forwards/posts2 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
HIGH — smallest roster in the group (11), only 4 bigs, 2 returning
Athletic training pathway
Not verified
Who to write
James Frey, Head Coach — no published email; (229) 931-2231

Valdosta State University

D2 · 74 mi · ~1:22 from 32312

16 on roster7 forwards/posts4 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
MODERATE — 7 bigs, 4 returning, so she would be competing rather than filling a hole
Athletic training pathway
BS and MS in Exercise Physiology, and the university lists athletic-training coursework
Who to write
Chandler Merkerson, Head Coach — cgmerkerson@valdosta.edu · (229) 333-5892

Wesleyan College

D3 · 184 mi · ~3:08 from 32312

17 on roster3 forwards/posts2 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
HIGH — only 3 true bigs on a 17-player roster
Athletic training pathway
Not verified. D3, so no athletic money — but her 3.85/4.16 is exactly the profile academic aid is built for
Who to write
Olivia Gaither, Head Coach — ogaither@wesleyancollege.edu
3

Close to home, different path

Two options inside 40 minutes that sit outside the NCAA lists but are the most realistic near-term basketball homes.

Tallahassee State College

NJCAA D1 · 8 mi · ~0:13 from 32312

Frontcourt need for her class
Not analyzed — JUCO rosters turn over every two years by design, so there is always a class coming in
Athletic training pathway
AA transfer degree with guaranteed admission to a Florida state university, plus a Sports/Fitness AS. A clean two-year runway into an MSAT school
Who to write
Chelsea Waters, Head Coach — chelsea.waters@tsc.fl.edu · (850) 201-8074

Thomas University no published email

NAIA · 35 mi · ~0:35 from 32312

Frontcourt need for her class
Not analyzed — outside the NCAA and NJCAA lists
Athletic training pathway
BS in Exercise & Sport Science; the school reports grads placing into athletic training master's programs
Who to write
Not yet pulled — say the word and I will get the staff and emails
4

Reaches, in order of realism

Division I. Worth a note with film, but the honest read is that these become live only if her junior and senior varsity seasons are a step change.

University of North Florida

D1 · 178 mi · ~2:42 from 32312

16 on roster6 forwards/posts3 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
MODERATE — 6 bigs, 3 returning
Athletic training pathway
CAATE-accredited MS in Athletic Training in house — the best major fit of any D1 on the list
Who to write
Chris Dixon, Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator — c.dixon@unf.edu

Troy University roster data incomplete

D1 · 145 mi · ~2:32 from 32312

19 on roster9 forwards/posts0 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
MODERATE — 13 players, 8 forwards/posts. Three of those bigs are current freshmen (6'0", 6'1" and 6'4") who will be juniors in her arrival year, so the frontcourt is not empty. But five bigs are juniors or graduate students who are gone before she gets there.
Athletic training pathway
Master's-level athletic training program on campus — the reason it fits her plan as well as her preference
Who to write
Jennifer Graf, Associate Head Coach — jgraf@troy.edu · 334-670-5718

Florida A&M University

D1 · 9 mi · ~0:17 from 32312

13 on roster7 forwards/posts3 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
MODERATE — 7 bigs, 3 returning
Athletic training pathway
Not verified
Who to write
James Hill, Associate Head Coach — james.hill1@famu.edu

Florida State University

D1 · 9 mi · ~0:15 from 32312

23 on roster12 forwards/posts3 still there in 2028-29
Frontcourt need for her class
LOW — 12 bigs on a 23-player roster
Athletic training pathway
FSU has an athletic training program
Who to write
Morgan Toles, Assistant Coach — mtoles@fsu.edu

Troy, specifically

Jennifer asked whether Troy is realistic. As a straight high-school-to-Division-I recruit it is a reach, and I would not tell you otherwise. But Troy's own roster shows a second door, and it is wide open: six of their thirteen players are transfers, and four of those six came from junior colleges or Division II — Miami Dade College, Harcum College, Collin College, and Georgia Southwestern State, which is a Division II program on this very list, two hours from your house. Troy recruits the exact schools Nikki would realistically start at. So the honest advice is not to write Troy off, and not to bank on it either: write them now so the staff knows her name, then take the two-year route through a junior college or a Division II program and arrive as the kind of player they already sign every year.

How the frontcourt read was built