MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine women's basketball team announced three more newcomers to the 2023-24 roster on Wednesday: transfer guards Mi'Cole Cayton, Alexis Griggsby and Jasmine Peaks.
This second group of signees under first-year head coach Tim Hays includes two experienced Power-5 transfers (Cayton, Griggsby) and an all-conference junior college transfer (Peaks). All three will be immediately eligible for Pepperdine in the 2023-24 season.
They will join true freshmen Holly Griffiths and Jorynn Ross, plus transfers Myra Gordon, Megan Harkey, and Maggie Vick as additions to the 2023-24 roster. So far, Pepperdine will have five Power-5 transfers and eight total newcomers suit up for the Waves next year.
Mi'Cole Cayton
5'9" Guard
Class: Graduate Transfer
Hometown: Stockton, Calif.
Previous School: Minnesota
A graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining, Mi'Cole Cayton makes her return to her home state after spending this past season at Minnesota. Throughout her career, the Stockton, Calif. native has played in three NCAA Tournament games and two WNIT games for two different programs.
Prior to her time at Minnesota, she played two seasons at Nebraska, where she averaged 2.5 points and 1.0 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game. In 2021-22, Cayton was part of a team that went 24-9 and made the NCAA Tournament as an 8-seed before falling to Gonzaga in the first round. Outside of basketball, Cayton earned Academic All-Big 12 honors in 2022.
Cayton began her collegiate career at California where she spent four seasons. As a freshman in 2016-17, Clayton was an honorable mention Pac-12 All-Freshman Team selection after averaging 5.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game. As a sophomore, she scored 13 points in the season-opener against Saint Mary's, yet knee injuries limited her to playing just three games from 2017-20.
Her single-game highs include 18 points (vs. UCLA, Feb. 3, 2017), six rebounds (vs. Lehigh, Dec. 11, 2016), nine assists (vs. Lehigh, Dec. 11, 2016) and five steals (vs. Ohio State Jan. 5, 2023).
A 2016 graduate of St. Mary's High School, Cayton had a decorated prep career in which she was a Cal-Hi Sports State Player of the Year finalist, a Cal-Hi Sports Elite All-State and an All-State Division I selection, and the Northern California preps Player of the Year. ESPN ranked her as the No. 78 player in the nation and the No. 17 guard in its top-100 rankings, plus she earned WBCA High School All-American honors. As a senior, Cayton averaged 12.0 points and 2.0 steals per game while leading St. Mary's to a 28-1 record and a No. 2 national ranking in the final espnW power rankings.
Alexis Griggsby
5'9" Guard
Class: Graduate Transfer
Hometown: Northridge, Calif.
Previous School: Washington
Coming to Pepperdine after being part of a Washington Huskies squad that won 19 games last year, Alexis Griggsby will have one year of eligibility remaining for the Waves. Like Clayton, Griggsby will be making her return to California after playing in the Power-5 ranks.
During her six-year career at Washington, Griggsby averaged 4.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game. She started in 39 of her 108 career games — most of which came during the 2020-21 season, where she started in 18 of the 20 games in which she played. That season was one of the best of her career, as she averaged 5.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game, all while leading the team in made three-pointers. In her most recent season in 2021-22, she averaged 6.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game while starting in all seven contests in which she played.
Her single-game highs include 26 points (at Oregon, Jan. 4, 2019), seven rebounds (vs USC, Feb. 5, 2021), five assists (at Texas, Nov. 25, 2017) and five steals (vs. George Mason, Dec. 2, 2018). Griggsby has had two career 20-point games.
At Sierra Canyon High School, Griggsby was a four-year varsity letter-winner and a team captain for the Trailblazers. She averaged 17.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game as a senior, plus she was named to the Los Angeles Daily News All-Area team, Southern Section All-Open Division Team and was a two-time All-CIF First Team selection.
Jasmine Peaks
5'6" Guard
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Palm Bay, Florida
Previous School: Indian River State College
A first-team All-Southern Conference selection from Indian River State College, Jasmine Peaks comes to Pepperdine with three years of eligibility remaining.
During the 2022-23 season, Peaks helped the Pioneers go 25-5 and reach the Division I FCSAA/NJCAA South Atlantic District Women's Basketball Tournament semifinals. Peaks earned first-team All-Southern Conference honors and ranked third in the league with 4.0 assists per game. Her single-game highs include 29 points (vs. Chipola College, Dec. 12, 2022), 10 assists (twice), seven rebounds (vs. Illinois Central College, Nov. 18, 2022) and five steals (vs. Warner University JV, Nov. 6, 2022).
Prior to playing at Indian River State College, Peaks spent one season at Eastern Florida State College, where she redshirted during her true freshman season. In high school, Peaks helped lead Tampa Bay Tech to an 8A FHSAA State Championship as a sophomore in 2019. She graduated from Winter Haven High School in 2021.
