Jessica Huffman will not be in Eastern blue and gray next season.

Eastern head coach Brady Sallee announced on Wednesday Huffman, a sophomore guard, had decided to transfer at the end of the semester.

All of the members of the Eastern’s women’s basketball team are expected to return next season except for senior guard Brittney Coleman who will graduate in May.

Sallee said he met with Huffman on Tuesday to discuss her future.

“I can’t say that I was surprised,” Sallee said about Huffman’s decision to transfer. “Clearly the kid is very, very competitive, and she loves to play the game. No question about that. We asked her to play a role this season. That role wasn’t what she was looking for.”

Huffman was named the 2007 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year after averaging 16.9 points and 3.4 rebounds her first year at Eastern.

Those numbers declined in her sophomore season.

Huffman missed four games in December with a stress fracture in her right leg.

“There were probably a lot factors (in Huffman transferring),” Sallee said. “The leg being one of them.”

She played a reserve role in Eastern’s nine-player rotation after she recovered.

Sallee said the rotation was something that helped Eastern to a successful season. The Panthers finished the year 19-13 and lost in the OVC title game to Murray State on March 8.

“As a coach you’ve got to make tough decisions on playing time and rotations,” Sallee said. “You can’t play everybody 30 minutes. This year we made good decisions.”

Huffman started eight of the 26 games she played in the 2007-08 season. She averaged 7.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists but also had 72 turnovers on the season.

Sallee said his meeting with Huffman ended on good terms.

“I respect her thoughts, and I know she respects what I have to say,” Sallee said. ” I’m all for helping her find the right situation.”

Sallee said he is not worried about next season’s team. He said he is bringing in at least three new players in addition to the 11 returning players. Filling Huffman’s role, he said, would not be a problem.

“Honestly, I think we’ve got a pretty good group,” Sallee said. “I sure do like the group I have coming back.”

Both Eastern junior guard Ellen Canale and red-shirt sophomore guard Dominique Sims would not comment on the situation.

Canale did say, though, the team loved Huffman and they considered Huffman a part of their family.

-Associate Sports Editor Kevin Murphy contributed to this story.

Scott Richey can be reached at 581-7944 or at srrichey@eiu.edu.

Sophomore guard, Jessica Huffman, sits on the bench during the OVC championship game after being pulled out of the game by coach Brady Sallee in Nashville two weeks ago. (John Bailey / The Daily Eastern News)

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