Donyeah Mayfield has spent four seasons as a college basketball version of Goldilocks.

The former Vicksburg High star first signed with Tennessee State, but a coaching change made that situation miserable. So she transferred to South Alabama, but it wasn’t a good fit either. That led her to Xavier University, an NAIA school in New Orleans, and at last everything feels just right.

Mayfield is averaging 7.2 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds for the Gold Nuggets, who play at Tougaloo College in Jackson tonight at 5:30. She said her latest college stop has renewed her passion for the game and helped her develop as both a player and a person.

“I like my coach down here a lot. It’s more like a family,” Mayfield said. “After going to different schools and being down and out about it, I finally feel good. He pushed me a little bit. I just couldn’t play my game before, but now I can.”

Mayfield’s journey through the college basketball world started when she signed out of high school with Tennessee State. She averaged 3.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 29 games as a freshman, but a coaching change following that season brought a new philosophy and a greatly reduced role. After playing in just nine games in the 2012-13 season, Mayfield decided to transfer to South Alabama.

Mayfield redshirted during the 2013-14 season at South Alabama, but still didn’t quite feel at home. That led to another transfer, this time to Xavier. She said coach Bo Browder and her new teammates welcomed her with open arms, and at last she felt like she’d found a home.

“It was a real big confidence booster when I got here. I had a clean slate,” she said, adding of her odyssey, “It hasn’t been weird. It gave me time to grow and mature, and gave me time to grow my game.”

Browder, who is in his 16th season at Xavier, said he had recruited Mayfield out of high school but understood her choice to play Division I basketball. When he got the chance to bring her into the fold again, he was leery of signing a player who had bounced around from program to program. The second recruiting process quickly alleviated those concerns, though.

“It’s always a concern when kids want to transfer. What happened was, she pretty much wanted to come to a place she felt comfortable playing because she got burned at the other two schools,” Browder said. “Talking to her mom was like talking to a family member. They were sold after that first visit.”

Ever since her days at Vicksburg, the 5-foot-10 Mayfield has been a strong rebounder and post player. At Xavier, though, she’s become a versatile jack-of-all-trades by coming off the bench and playing every position at one time or another. In addition to her scoring and rebounding totals, she’s averaging 1.3 assists per game and has 17 steals and 17 rebounds.

Mayfield had a 16-rebound game against Southern-New Orleans on Jan. 19, and double-doubles in each of her last two games heading into tonight’s matchup with Tougaloo. She just missed a third double-double by finishing with nine points and 11 rebounds against Edward Waters on Feb. 2.

“(Broward) told me I needed to step up. When the season first started, there’s certain things you can and can’t do. Then he gave me the green light,” Mayfield said. “That was a great feeling. It put me there with (Vicksburg) Coach (Barbara) Hartzog. When a coach believes in me that much, it gives me the confidence to play better.”

Although things have gotten better, Mayfield said there’s still plenty of room for improvement in her game. Before her recent three-game hot streak, she fouled out and was held to two points and five rebounds in a 53-42 loss to Dillard. She’s scored four points or less in 10 of her 26 games this season.

“Coach wants me to be a little more consistent,” Mayfield said. “But it’s gotten better over the course of the year as I’ve gotten to know my teammates.”

And, for once, Mayfield will have plenty of familiar faces around her next season. The junior has one more season of eligibility and isn’t going anywhere this time — something both she and Browder were happy about.

“Her best days are ahead of her. She’s going to have an outstanding senior year next year,” Browder said. “I think she’s got a chance to be an All-American at our NAIA level. We’re excited about having her back.”