MACOMB, Ill.- The Leatherneck Women's Basketball Team welcomes a new addition to its 2026 signing class with the commitment of 5'11" small forward Melaina Granquist.
Granquist, a native of Bowler, Wisconsin, joins Western Illinois after a standout career at Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School. She made a significant impact as a Charger, earning unanimous First Team All-Conference and Conference Player of the Year honors. She helped lead her team to conference and regional championships, as well as a sectional runner-up finish. Granquist was voted the team's Offensive Player of the Year, set a new single-season school scoring record, and led the team in points, rebounds, and blocks. She also reached the 1,000-point milestone and was one of only ten athletes statewide selected to compete in the Wisconsin State 3-Point Contest, finishing third. Academically, she earned Academic All-State, All-State Honorable Mention, and was named the Wausau Daily Herald Player of the Year as a junior.
As a junior, she averaged 19.7 points per game on 49.2 percent shooting, 72 percent from the free-throw line, and 37 percent from beyond the arc, along with 10.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.
During her sophomore season, Granquist was also named First Team All-Conference and contributed to another regional championship and sectional runner-up appearance. She again led her team in rebounds and blocks, set a new single-season rebounding record, and was voted the team's Offensive Player of the Year. She averaged 48.8 percent shooting, 70 percent at the free-throw line, 32 percent from three, 10.5 rebounds, and 3 steals per game.
Granquist chose Western Illinois because she was looking for a smaller, close-knit campus environment similar to her hometown and was drawn to how strongly the community supports its athletics programs.
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