The University of Chicago women put together a 17-8 season last winter, their second consecutive season of 16-plus wins. Here’s what that success netted them on the recruiting trail, from a school release, including three six-footers. Devaney has been featured previously.
Kaitlin Devaney (San Diego/Scripps Ranch) was a four-time most valuable player at Scripps Ranch High School. A four-time first-team all-league selection, the 5-8 Devaney led Scripps Ranch to a 20-9 record this past season. A four-year member of the honor roll and a four-year starter, she averaged 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists her senior year.
Jill DiNucci (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler Area) finished her career as the third-leading all-time scorer at Shaler Area High School with 1,387 points. The 5-11 DiNucci was a four-year starter. She averaged 14.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 2005-06 as Shaler Area notched a 16-7 record.
Molly Hackney (East Lansing, Mich./Lansing Catholic) garnered all-state, all-district, and all-conference recognition in helping lead Lansing Catholic HS to the state final four twice during her four-year career. A three-year starter and an academic all-league pick, the 6-0 Hackney averaged 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a senior.
Jamie Stinson (Topeka, Kan./Shawnee Heights) was a second-team all-state selection for Shawnee Heights High School, where she averaged 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists per game. The 5-9 Stinson, who graduated first in her class, was a three-year starter and helped lead Shawnee Heights to three top-four state finishes.
Christine Walczak (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) earned all-state honorable mention accolades for Sandburg High School. The 6-1 Walczak averaged 14.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game for Sandburg, which in 2005-06 posted a 23-12 mark and claimed regional and sectional titles. An all-area and all-conference pick, Walczak collected 22 double-doubles during her senior campaign.
Anna Woods (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Lower Merion) was a four-year starter at Lower Merion High School, which she helped lead to a pair of league championships. The 6-1 Woods averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per game as a senior en route to earning first-team all-league recognition. Woods served as a team captain in 2006 and was named a Scholar-Athlete in 2005.
Are you a school looking to release your recruiting class and have them included here? Log in and post the release on the site, or e-mail news@d3hoops.com. (Hint, if you’re a fan, or a parent, you must provide published confirmation of the player’s commitment. We aren’t kidding.)
Men
We have the first announced recruit for defending champ Virginia Wesleyan: Portsmouth Christian’s Chris Battaglia, a 6-7 forward, will attend, according to the Virginian-Pilot.
Rob Tenenini, a 6-4 swingman at Fox Chapel HS (Pa.), will play at Wooster next year, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. He averaged 16.5 points and 9 rebounds.
Marcus Sun, a 6-2, 185-pound shooting guard from Santa Fe Christian in California, is heading to Wheaton (Ill.). The Division V player of the year for the San Diego section, Sun averaged 19.5 points per game.
Some more newly announced members of the Wheaton (Ill.) recruiting class:
David Eseke, 6-4 F, Santa Barbara, Calif. (Laguna Blanca)
Drew Olson, 6-1 G, Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton Warrenville South)
Brad Smith, 6-5 F, Holdrege, Neb. (HS)
Steven Young, 6-3 G, Little Rock, Ark. (Pulaski Academy)
Greg Hernandez joins LaSalle HS (Miami) teammate Michael Santiago in the Maryville (Tenn.) recruiting class. Hernandez is 6-7 and averaged 14.5 points, 12 rebounds, according to the Maryville Daily Times.
Monmouth is getting Scott Ubbenga from Hartsburg-Emden HS, according to the Lincoln (Ill.) Courier. He scored 21.9 points per game and had 70 three-pointers this past season.
A pair of Bridgewater incoming big men were recently featured in The Daily News Record of Harrisonburg, Va. Forwards Segar Jordan of Fork Union Military Academy and Elijah Spruill of East Stroudsburg, Pa., Area HS are described as having a chance to play right away. Point guard Joey Osborne of Richard Montgomery HS in Rockville, Md., is also coming, as is D.J. Billups, a 6-1, 165-pound guard from Kingsway HS in Swedesboro, N.J. Also coming to Bridgewater: Hughesville, Pa., HS guard Taylor Volpe; guard Daniel Guffey from Forestview HS in Gastonia, N.C. and Robert Rice, who is technically a transfer from Longwood but did not play there, spending time as practice fodder as a freshman.
The UW-La Crosse incoming class:
Making verbal commitments are Nick Fredrick of Milton, Wis., Milton HS; Jay Langdon of Hudson, Wis., Hudson HS; Brady Olson of Spring Valley, Minn., Kingsland HS; Ian Roberts of Poynette, Wis., Poynette HS; Austin Scott of Lake Zurich, Ill., Lake Zurich HS; Sean Walker of Strum, Wis., Eleva-Strum HS and Derek Wilcox of Hartford, Wis., Hartford HS.
The LaGrange recruiting class:
Cole Crowe, Woodward Academy, Jonesboro, Ga.
E.J. Gresham, McEachern High, Powder Springs, Ga.
Drew Stewart, Chestatee High, Gainsville, Ga.
St. John’s
Aaron Traut, Rocori HS, Minn.
Mike Stiller, Albany HS, Minn.
Brian Hosfield, Robbinsdale (Minn.) HS
Hamline
Chad Rich, Blake HS, Minn.
Erik Gusaas, Richfield (Minn.) HS
From the Newsday list: Matt Troiano, Commack HS, to Fredonia State
Women’s
Georgetown (Ky.) post player Julie Leach is transferring to Transylvania, the school announced. She averaged 12.4 points and 5.3 rebounds a game last year for a Georgetown team that won 24 games and qualified for the NAIA national tournament. She ranked seventh in the Mid-South Conference in scoring while connecting on 62.8% from the field and 84% from the free throw line.
Minnesota-Morris announced three incoming players:
A two-time All-State honorable mention, Brittany Quistorff was a first team All-State for the 2005-06 season. She averaged 20.4 ppg and 5.5 rpg, and finished her basketball career as the all time scoring leader at Osakis HS with 1,647 career points. Her Osakis teammate, Kristie Swenstad, averaged 8.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists and is heading to Morris as well. Rebecca Hillman (Ortonville HS) holds the school record for rebounds in a game (20), in a season with (274, 10.96 per game), and in a career (683). She is fifth in field goal percentage at 44%.
The News Herald of Morganton, N.C., reports three Freedom HS players are heading to Salem, which is a provisional member of Division III. The three are Alexandrea Ervin, Stephanie Wilson and Michala Michaux. “All will play a lot right away,” Salem coach Jim Jackson says. “That will get them good Division III experience.”
Not sure I agree with that last sentence. Salem was 3-13 against four-year schools last year, 0-7 against Division III. Good Division III experience for Salem last year was the 104-28 loss to Greensboro. It might be a few years before Salem people recognize “good Division III experience.”
Meredith Piersma is heading from Illiana Christian to Calvin, according to The Times of Northwest Indiana. She’s a 5-4 point guard.
Abbey Davenport tells the Greeneville (Ohio) Daily Advocate that she will play at Capital. She played at Franklin Monroe HS.
Becca Carden of Miami (Okla.) HS told the Joplin Globe she was attending University of Dallas and playing both basketball and soccer.
The Ursinus incoming class:
Carolyn Konstanzer, Hilltown, Pa., Pennridge HS
Laura Krieger, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Our Lady of Lourdes HS
Julie Bown, Lower Gwynedd, Pa., William Penn Charter School
Hannah Malinkowski, Livonia, N.Y., HS
Jen Norton, Quakertown, Pa., Area HS
Newcomers for Emmanuel:
Tommia Davis (Gloucester HS, Mass.)
Kate McKenna (Holyoke HS, Mass.)
Jillian Degnan (Saint Francis Prep, N.Y., transfer from D-II Concordia, N.Y.)
Abagail Brenkach (Coleman Catholic, N.Y.)
Jackie Pannell (Suffield Academy, Conn./transfer from D-II Franklin Pierce)
Iman Davis (St. George’s School, R.I.)
Ashley Wolfe (Centennial HS, Idaho/transfer from Walla Walla CC)
Incoming student-athletes at Hood:
Jenn Willison (Hancock, Md., HS)
Jessica Nease (Bermudian Springs, Pa., HS)
From the Newsday list: Kate Harrison, Cold Spring Harbor, Moravian
man crazy for people to put the recruiting commitments down. I dont know about you but this is NCAA 3 and unless it is Oct. 15 on that first day of class I wouldn’t assume that anyone is guaranteed to come to your campus. At this level anyone can change their minds at any time and it happens all the time at this level. It could be very embarassing to list all those players so early and then none or some of them decide not to come at the last minute.
interesting that in the article about bridgewater article about segar jordan he says:
“Jordan picked the Eagles over Lynchburg, he said, because he preferred both the academic program at the school and the quality of the BC basketball program. He said the chance to play right away and the fact that he’s well suited for Leatherman’s style of play were also major factors. In his 28 years coaching the Eagles, Leatherman has relied on a half-court offense that focuses on taking – and making – high-percentage shots.”
then he says:
“I really think I fit in better in that aspect than in a more run-and-gun system,” Jordan said. “I think my best is just catching the ball in the low post and shooting a high percentage shot.”
Is he calling LC’s offense a run-and-gun offense??? LOL, we’re about as half-cort as you can get!
d3,
The midwest is quite different than we get it up in New England. While there are no gurantees, the Midwest schools take things a lot more seriously. If a kid says they are going, they probably are. I wish we could get that kind of commitment in the NE, but whatever.
yah i suppose you are right in New England there are just way to many options for student athletes to chose from. I mean in Boston there are what 25 d3 colleges? much more competitive in New England to get student athletes.
He never says Lynchburg is run and gun.
From my Midwest perspective, basketball committments stay pretty firm. Occasionally you will see a kid back out or grab a late offered scholarship, but that’s really rare. Whether that kid turns into a four-year letterwinner or a mid-season drop-out is anyone’s guess.
In football, you see far more last second jumping around. In fact there are some DII schools known to scour published recruiting lists of DIII schools looking for kids to “steal”.
In New England I don’t think the biggest issue is other colleges…. it is as far as supply/demand for players… but not as far as making it difficult to obtain/mantain committments from players. Its been my observation that the issue is the number of prep schools and how many kids look at that as an ideal option believing (most often mistakenly) that if they go prep for a year that they will get a scholarship… Generally this isn’t the issue with kids going to MCI, Northfield Mount Hermon, St. Thomas More, Winchendon, Notre Dame, Brewster, and Bridgton (and a few more) the problem is the other prep schools litered with D3 players who have wasted (some do need it for academic reasons, most don’t) a year of their lives and tuition for no reason. Its these high school players who are difficult to nail down to a commitment. I have hardly ever seen a kid actually commitment to a D3 school only to go to another… but very often I have seen a kid saw he was going to a D3 school only to wind up at a lower prep school.
I definately agree with that midwest aspect. Word is bond in the MW, although the player may come to the school and decide not to play (or transfer as in the Wisconsin area).
The Northland women’s recruiting class:
Laurel Anttila, Howell, Mich., Pinckney HS
Jessica Etter, Eveleth, Minn., Cherry HS
Jayme Hamilton, Wakefield, Mich., Wakefield-Marenisco HS
Lindsey Hamm, Ontonagon, Mich, Ontonagon HS
Chelsea Lundgren, Crosby, Minn., Crosby-Ironton HS
Monica Masucci, Ontonagon, Mich, Ontonagon HS
Nadine Orozco, Fillmore, Calif., Fillmore HS
Ashley Reed, Norwood Young America, Minn., Central HS
Melissa Waytashek, Little Falls, Minn., Pierz HS
The Mt. St. Vincent women’s recruiting class:
Jill Brady, Bishop Kearney HS, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Maureen Carey, Stella Maris HS, Queens, N.Y.
Ciara Clarke, Warwick Valley HS, Warwick, N.Y.
Samantha Cullen, Cardinal Spellman HS, Bronx, N.Y.
Katie Hannon, Saint Barnabas HS, Bronx, N.Y.
Katie Hennes, Sachem North HS, Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
Karissa Koerner, Brentwood HS, Brentwood, N.Y.
Lauren Percodani, St. Joseph-by-the-Sea HS, Staten Island, N.Y.
Jessica Plate, Mamaroneck HS, Mamaroneck, N.Y.
Carolyn Suarez, St. Joseph Hill Academy, Staten Island, N.Y.
Virginia Wesleyan men’s recruits, the first group:
Chris Battaglia, 6-8 forward, Portsmouth Christian, Portsmouth, Va.
Stephen Coy, 6-10 forward, Walsingham Academy, Williamsburg, Va.
Stephen Fields, 6-2 wing, Hampton, Hampton, Va.
Tim Weyant, 6-0 point, Centreville, Clifton, Va.
T.J. Williams, 6-4 forward, Nansemond River, Suffolk, Va.