Nikola Priede signs first professional contract with Spanish club Ferrol

Latvian basketball player Nikola Priede signed her first professional contract on Friday, June 25. She will play the upcoming season for the Spanish top-tier club Ferrol, based in Galicia.

Priede, a product of the Rīdzene youth system, spent the last four years at the University of Vermont in the NCAA. During her college career, she started 62 of 116 games. In her senior season, she averaged 17.4 points and 7.7 rebounds in 34.5 minutes per game. Overall, she scored 1,036 points, grabbed 521 rebounds, and dished 136 assists.

Her Vermont team won the America East conference for the second straight year, defeating Maine in the final on March 13. Priede was named the tournament's most valuable player after recording 22 points, seven rebounds, and five blocks in the semifinal. When she arrived, Vermont had six NCAA conference titles; during her four years, the Catamounts added two more (2023, 2025, 2026) and earned NCAA tournament berths.

Ferrol finished ninth in the Spanish league last season with a 14-16 record, missing the playoffs. The previous season, they were eighth and lost in the quarterfinals to Uni Girona, coached by Roberto Iniguez. The club's biggest achievement came 15 months ago when they sensationally reached the EuroCup Women final. Starting from the qualifying round, Ferrol—seeded 17th—upset several teams, including DVTK Miškolc (featuring Aleksa Gulbe), before falling to French club Villeneuve d'Ascq 145-162 in the final.

Ferrol will celebrate its 30th anniversary next season. Priede is the second Latvian to play for the club after Aleksa Gulbe, who was with Ferrol last season.