Mississippi State transfer adds size to Lobo basketball women

Apr. 12—Charlotte Kohl proved she could handle a supporting role on a big college basketball stage. She's ready for a bigger role and a new adventure.

Kohl, a 6-foot-5 center from Germany via Mississippi State, will join the University of New Mexico women's basketball team this season as a graduate transfer. She has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

It stacks up as a good fit as Kohl provides UNM with some much-needed size. The Lobos had no one taller than 6-1 on last season's roster and often struggled to match up against talented posts.

Kohl, meanwhile, had limited opportunities playing for a first-year coach on a Mississippi State roster loaded with tall players. After appearing in 29 games (11 starts) and averaging 13.7 minutes as a sophomore in 2021-22, Kohl was limited to 6.5 minutes per contest (three starts) last season. She got into the game only in the last minute when the Bulldogs routed the Lobos 87-58 in a tournament in Tampa, Fla., last Dec. 21.

"We played a faster style," Kohl said of her sophomore season in a phone interview, "and it fit my game better. Last year was my third coach in three years and we had a good season, but I didn't get to play as much. Really, it's all positive experiences, positive memories, but I'm excited to play at New Mexico."

Kohl, who goes by Charlie, came to Albuquerque for a recruiting visit last week. That trip was set up in part by UNM associate head coach Keith Freeman, who was an assistant coach at Mississippi State in 2020 and helped to convince Kohl to sign with the Bulldogs.

"I got to know coach Freeman when I was being recruited," she said, "and we talked a lot during the pandemic. It was hard to get over (to the U.S.) and getting a visa was tricky but he helped me. I appreciated that."

Kohl comes to the Lobos with a bachelor's degree (she's a psychology major) and numerous SEC academic honor roll awards under her belt.

In terms of basketball, UNM coach Mike Bradbury believes Kohl's best is yet to come.

"She can play in our system," he said. "She's skilled, can score around the basket and she's a long, high-level post defender, which is something we've lacked. She can play on the perimeter, too. She's mobile."

Kohl said she's eager for the challenge.

"I like to play back-to-the-basket and rebound," she said, "but I want to work on my outside game, too, hopefully make a few 3s."

Kohl did not make a 3-pointer at Mississippi State (0-for-7) but she did flash considerable potential at times. She racked up 10 points and 18 boards against Arkansas in 2021-22, but on a Bulldogs roster that included All-SEC 6-5 post Jessika Carter, Kohl was not a primary option. She averaged 2.4 points and 3.2 rebounds.

"Playing in the SEC helped me to grow my game," Kohl said. "In my opinion it's the best conference, great competition and I had to get stronger and adjust to the speed of play there."

Still, Kohl came away from her recent visit to UNM impressed.

"It was great," she said. "I really liked the coaching staff and the team — they're a great group of girls — and I liked Albuquerque a lot."

Kohl, who is from Giessen, Germany, plans to head home for an extended visit before returning to New Mexico for summer workouts. She sees the move to UNM as a chance to shine on a new stage.

"Albuquerque is a bigger city with more to see and more to do," she said after three seasons in Starkville (population roughly 25,000). "I need to spend some time at home first but I'm really looking forward to this new adventure."

NOTES: Kohl will be the tallest player on UNM's roster since 6-5 Richelle van der Keijl in 2016-17. Coincidentally, the two European posts have a Freeman connection. Van der Keijl played for Bradbury at Wright State before transferring when he was hired at UNM. Originally from the Netherlands, van der Keijl was recruited to Wright State by Freeman — then an assistant with the Raiders. ... Bradbury hopes to sign two or three more players during the spring signing period (Wednesday through May 17). One of them is likely to be Odessa College guard Nahawa Diarra Berthe, who verbally committed to UNM in March.