Arizona lands Penn State grad transfer Amari Carter

Penn State graduate transfer Amari Carter committed to the Arizona Wildcats on Friday via Instagram.

The 5-foot-8 guard averaged 9.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game with the Nittany Lions this past season as a redshirt junior. Carter appeared in 26 games, made 24 starts and shot 41 for 124 (.331) from 3.

Carter was even better in her redshirt sophomore season, averaging 14.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and a Big-Ten best 2.7 steals per game. That earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Second Team.

The Washington, D.C. native missed all but one game of her true freshman season (2015-16) with a knee injury.

Arizona is set to return its entire starting five, so Carter will either provide quality depth off the bench or compete to start at the 2 next to point guard Aari McDonald.

Head coach Adia Barnes said last month that shooting, size and athleticism on the perimeter were her team’s biggest needs heading into next season.

The Wildcats also added Oklahoma transfer Shaina Pellington, the former Big 12 Freshman of the Year, on Friday.