South High’s Ericka Mattingly withdraws women’s basketball commitment from Wichita State

Wichita South senior point guard and All-State selection Ericka Mattingly withdrew her non-binding commitment from Wichita State on Monday, her high school coach said.

Mattingly, a three-year starter, led South to its third straight Class 6A title in March and is 71-4 in her career. She averaged 9.5 points, 4 steals, 5 assists and 6 rebounds last season.

“I think she just made the decision that’s best for her and for her family,” South coach Antwain Scales said. “She needs to go somewhere that’s going to be the right fit for her, and she just didn’t think that was Wichita State.

“I support her all the way. I’m still a huge WSU fan, but I support Ericka. I’m her biggest supporter. She’s done really well in summer ball and I think she’s going to draw a lot of attention as far as being recruited.”

Mattingly committed to the Shockers and coach Jody Adams in April 2014. She was going to be the first City League player to sign with WSU out of high school since Bishop Carroll’s Taylor Steven in 2004.

WSU has been to three straight NCAA Tournaments — the first three in school history — but Adams weathered a controversy this spring after a group of former players described an atmosphere of anger, isolation and personal insults that caused them to quit.

Adams kept her job after an internal review, but WSU’s women’s basketball players and coaches will work with a consultant in sports psychology and players will have “enhanced open lines of communication” to athletic administrators.

Mattingly did not immediately return a call seeking comment. In 2014, she cited WSU’s fast-paced game as a reason for her choosing the program.

Bailey joins staff – Adams hired Kaci Bailey as an assistant coach, replacing Chandra Dorsey, who became an assistant at Texas State.

Bailey spent the past two seasons at Central Arkansas as an assistant coach. In 2012-13, she worked as interim head coach at Henderson (Ark.) State and helped the team to a 13-14 record.

Bailey played at Southern Illinois for four seasons, two with WSU coach Jody Adams as an assistant for the Salukis.

This story was originally published July 20, 2015 at 2:35 PM with the headline "South High’s Ericka Mattingly withdraws women’s basketball commitment from Wichita State."