CHICAGO – UIC women's basketball coach Ashleen Bracey announced Monday the first addition to the women's basketball roster with the signing of Chicago native Danyel Middleton.
 
"I am thrilled to welcome Danyel back home to the Windy City," said Bracey. "Danyel is a proven winner at both the high school and college levels and plays the game with great passion and energy. She has the ability to score inside and out and takes tremendous pride on the defensive end. Danyel is committed to our vision of working to build a championship caliber program here at UIC."


 
Middleton, who will have three years of eligibility remaining, joins the Flames for the 2022-23 season following two years at Marquette. A 5-foot-10 wing, Middleton appeared in 26 games a season ago while averaging 12 minutes per contest.
 
The Chicago native recorded her first collegiate double-double in a win over BIG EAST foe DePaul, finishing with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds on January 12. Middleton followed up the performance with another 12 points in a win over Georgetown on Jan. 14, finishing 5-for-9 from the field while adding five rebounds.
 
Middleton appeared in 31 career games for Marquette after competing in five games off the bench as a freshman in 2020-21. Excellent in the classroom, Middleton was named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team in 2020-21 as well.
 
A four-year letterwinner at Bolingbrook High School, Middleton was rated as the No. 28 point guard coming out of high school according to World Exposure Report. While at Bolingbrook High School, Middleton was an all-conference performer and was named the program's Most Valuable Player in addition to being named to the All-Area Team after helping the Raiders to its first super sectional title since 2012.
 
Middleton also competed on the Mac Irvin Fire AAU program, one of the top programs in the country, helping the team rank as high as No. 2 in the nation.