Marquette, MI – April 27th, 2026 – About three weeks ago, former Michigan Tech women’s basketball coach Sam Clayton resigned and announced she would be moving closer to home to be with family while accepting a position as the women’s basketball scout coach at University of Wisconsin-Stout. Clayton had recruited Negaunee alum, Ella Mason, out of high school and coached her over the past two seasons.
During Mason’s high school career she helped lead the Miners to three Mid-Peninsula Conference championships, earned U.P. Dream Team honors, and was named Mid-Peninsula Conference Player of the Year. Mason was also widely regarded as one of the most gifted scorers in Upper Peninsula basketball history.
Mason became Negaunee girl’s all-time leading scorer and surpassed Tyler Jandron’s previous school record of 1,334 points to become the program’s overall all-time leading scorer. She continued to add to that total while leading the Miners to the state semifinals before Detroit Edison ended Negaunee’s outstanding 26-2 season.
Mason made an immediate impact during her freshman season at Michigan Tech in 2024-25. She appeared in 20 games, averaging 11 minutes per contest while totaling 229 minutes on the year. She shot 31-of-91 from the field (34.1%), scored 79 points, and went 11-of-12 from the free throw line (91.7%). The Huskies finished 12-17 overall and 9-11 in GLIAC play, but Mason’s first season laid the foundation for a major leap in year two.
This past season, Mason took a huge step forward and helped Michigan Tech become a more competitive team. She started 27 of the team’s 29 games and nearly tripled her playing time, logging 809 total minutes. Mason averaged 13.7 points per game while shooting 40.9% from the field. She also knocked down 58 three-pointers at a 33.5% clip while adding 2.9 rebounds per game.
During the Huskies’ exhibition game at Michigan State, Mason scored 14 points with two rebounds and one assist in 35 minutes. Her career-high performance came against hometown rival Northern Michigan University, when she poured in 30 points. Michigan Tech finished 16-13 overall and 10-10 in conference play before NMU ended the Huskies’ season with a 74-66 loss in the GLIAC Tournament.
Following the season, Mason entered the transfer portal and announced yesterday that she had found her new home. She will now make the jump to Division I, joining the Illinois State Redbirds. Last season, Illinois State finished 24-14 overall and 13-7 in conference play, while posting an impressive 17-1 record at home. For the first time in program history, the Redbirds advanced to the Women’s NIT championship game before falling 66-41.
