Eastern women’s basketball guard Katlyn Payne will be transferring out of Eastern after the spring semester ends.

Payne is transferring strictly because of academics, she said.

“It has absolutely nothing to do with basketball,” Payne said. “It is more of, I am graduating and I will have a major in political science, a minor in business and a minor in pre-law and my dream has always been to be an attorney, so I need a school that can provide academics for me.”

Payne had not made a decision on where she wants to transfer to, but she does say she has options.

Evansville, Northern Illinois and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi are the three schools Payne is considering transferring to, but Northern Illinois is her first choice because of the location.

Northern is about 25 miles away from St. Charles, where Payne lives.

She said Northern has called her already and they are willing to pay for her law school and play basketball at the same time, if she is able to get her Law School Admissions Test completed.

“That is something different that a lot of schools haven’t offered me,” Payne said. “A lot of attorneys have told me I can’t go to law school and play basketball at the same time, but that is one thing Northern has adapted to. They realized that student-athletes want to go to law school and play basketball at the same time.”

Payne has talked to the Northern coaches already and is planning to visit the school on April 18th.

As for another reason for leaving, Payne said this was a personal decision for her and her family.

“It had nothing to do with anyone else,” she said. “As much as I am going to miss the team, I think that this is more beneficial for my future and at the end of the day, I am not going to play in the WNBA and not going to play overseas, so my academics have to come first.”

Payne said her coach Debbie Black was not happy about the decision when she told her, but she understood it was for her well-being.

Black was not available for comment.

Payne ended her career at Eastern with her best season as a Panther, averaging 13.8 points per game on the season.

She shot 41 percent from the 3-point line and 42 percent overall from the field. She averaged 36 minutes a game in her final season and said she helped the team as much as she could.

“I think there are some parts of my game that I wish I could have improved to help us, like my dribbling and my defense,” she said.

“I feel like if I am going to be leaving, coming off a year that I did, I was lucky enough to have people pass me the ball on the perimeter and breaking a school record. As much as I hate to leave and start with a whole new team, I think it is for the best.”

Bob Reynolds can be reached at 581-2812 or rjreynolds@eiu.edu.