MANHATTAN – K-State women’s basketball head coach Jeff Mittie has signed international talent Malene Lind Pedersen to a National Letter of Intent. Pedersen will join the Wildcat roster for the 2021-22 season.
Pedersen joins previous K-State signees: Rebekah Dallinger (Sydney, Australia), Brylee Glenn (Raymore, Missouri), Jaelyn Glenn (Raymore, Missouri) and Serena Sundell (Maryville, Missouri). Pedersen is the first women’s basketball player in program history from Denmark.
“Malene is a player that fills the stat sheet in every way,” said Mittie. “She can play multiple positions and possesses a good knack for scoring. She is a possible redshirt, as she sustained a late season injury. We will assess this when she arrives on campus.”
Pedersen, a 5-11 guard, joins the Wildcats from Aabyhoj, Denmark, and is the first Wildcat women’s basketball player from Denmark. Pedersen played her club career with Aabyhoj IF in the Danish Women’s League. She was a two-time Danish Women’s League All-Star team selection in 2019 and 2021.
In the 2019 season, Pedersen was awarded the Danish Women’s League Talent of the Year by leading Aabyhoj IF to the Danish Women’s League title and was named the player of the game in the final. She averaged 14.9 points on a .556 field goal percentage in 17 games, including a .380 effort from 3-point range. She also pulled in 5.1 rebounds and pocketed 1.6 steals.
In 2021, Pedersen played in 13 games and led the squad with 19.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.6 steals. She also handed out 3.1 assists. She tallied seven games with 20 or more points and also carded four double-doubles.
In her international career, Pedersen has played for Denmark Senior and Youth National Teams. In her most recent international experience, Pedersen played in the 2019-20 FIBA Women's Eurobasket Qualifiers with the Denmark Women’s National Team and recorded 1.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists in three games played.
In 2018, Pedersen took part in the 2018 Basketball Without Borders Camp in Belgrade, Serbia, and was named the camp’s MVP and was selected to the All-Star team.
In 2017, Pedersen helped Denmark’s U16 National Team capture the 2017 U16 Women’s European Championship in division B and named to the All-Tournament Team.
K-State concluded the 53rd season in program history in 2020-21. The Wildcats will return 2021 All-Big 12 recipient Ayoka Lee and preseason 2020-21 All-Big 12 honorable mention selection Rachel Ranke for the 2021-22 season.
K-State 2020-21 signees
Name, Height, Position, Hometown, School
Rebekah Dallinger, Guard, Sydney, Australia, Miles (Montana) Community College
Brylee Glenn, Guard, Raymore, Missouri, The Barstow School
Jaelyn Glenn, Guard, Raymore, Missouri, The Barstow School
Malene Lind Pedersen, Guard, Aabyhoj, Denmark
Serena Sundell, Guard, Maryville, Missouri, Maryville High School
– kstatesports.com –