ROCHESTER, Mich. – A name likely familiar to fans of local high school basketball, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies continued a tremendous offseason by announcing the addition of combo guard Maddy Skorupski on Wednesday, May 31.
Set to turn 19 years old in July, Skorupski starred for head coach Aaron Goodnough in the Oakland Activities Association (OAA) with the Clarkston Wolves during her prep days, averaging 26.6 points and helping the team to a Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 1 Regional Final run as a senior in 2021-22.
Surpassing 1,000 career points midway through her senior campaign, she scored a school-record 42 in an MHSAA Regional Semifinal victory over the rival Lake Orion Dragons at Fenton High School on March 8, 2022, showcasing her ability to both hit the 3-point shot and drive the lane and reach the foul line.
Following her graduation from Clarkston, Skorupski elected to continue her career as a walk-on with the Big Ten Conference's (B1G) Michigan State Spartans for then-head coach Suzy Merchant, a former Oakland assistant.
In her one season in East Lansing in 2022-23, she saw action in five contests, one of which came against the Golden Grizzlies at the Breslin Center on November 15, and recorded four points, three rebounds and two assists in a total of 12 minutes.
"We are very excited to have Maddy join our program," head coach
Jeff Tungate said.
"She is an outstanding scorer, shooter and competitor. Maddy's year at Michigan State gives her great experience in what it takes to compete at the highest level. We cannot wait for Maddy to arrive on-campus."
A smooth ball handler in addition to her driving and shooting abilities, Skorupski will join an Oakland backcourt that features classmate
Brooke Quarles-Daniels, the 2022-23 Horizon League Freshman of the Year, and has been further boosted with two other transfers this offseason, Madison Royal-Davis from the Butler Bulldogs and Markyia McCormick from the University of Charleston Golden Eagles and previously the Detroit Mercy Titans.
Raquel Ferrer-Bernad, who played in all 30 of the Golden Grizzlies' contests a year ago and started 22 of them at the guard spots, has joined Tungate's staff as a graduate assistant in 2023-24, giving Skorupski and the backcourt another asset with recent experience to help them succeed in the Horizon League.
