| CONFERENCE TEAM RANKINGS |
| Atlantic 10 |
1. Charlotte
2. Dayton
3. Saint Louis
4. Xavier
5. Duquesne |
6. Fordham
7. George Washington
8. St Bonaventure
9. Temple
10. St Joseph's |
11. Richmond
12. Massachusetts
13. La Salle
No Report:
Rhode Island |
BIG HAUL IS BIG PAYOFF FOR CHARLOTTE
More than a dozen signees head to Charlotte and all have the ability to contribute for the 49ers. This group is ranked first in the A-10 not becuase of its size but for the talent that Coach Lipsitz brought in. Midfielder Samantha Huecker and defender Katie Davies are Top 100 recruits who play for regional ODP squads. Two capable strikers, Whitney Weinraub of Pennsylvania and Samantha Fried of New York, claimed ODP national championships and racked up numerous prep honors. Tennessee all-staters Danielle Mayeaux and Melissa Morris have both been part of youth regional ODP pools. Defender Whitney Bryant hails from the Atlanta area and also has experience on a regional ODP team. Along with Davis, five other Ohio preps will join the 49ers, including high school All-American, Ashley Roberto. Buckeyes Megan Minnix and Alyssa Brown both garnered all-state honors, won several state titles with Ohio Premier and played with the Ohio South ODP unit. Not overlooking his home turf, Coach Lipsitz inked in-state products Katie Hadley and Megan Mazzarella. Both have been part of the NC ODP pool as this rookie class has nearly 50 state championships under its belt. The 49ers easily have their best recruiting class in school history.
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Despite pulling up at the second spot after two straight years with the top-ranked class, Dayton remains strong with a group among the Top 75 nationally. With its best recruiting period in recent years, Xavier nails a class ranked fourth in the league. Duquesne and Fordham may also have inked what are their best classes as both made great strides from recent recruiting periods. After recent successes, both Richmond and Massachusetts needed to replace about three players each and their small signing classes placed them near the bottom of the A-10.
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| Big South |
1. Coastal Carolina
2. Charleston Southern
3. Radford
4. Liberty |
5. Winthrop
6. High Point
7. Presbyterian |
No Reports:
UNC Asheville
11. VMI |
ALL HEAD TO THE COAST
In his second year at the helm, Coach Naraine scored big with numbers and a tremendously diverse set of recruits to give the Big South its fifth different recruiting winner in the last five years. Aside from Tiana Tallant out of Rock Hill, his entire class is from out of state including three from Ohio and two each from Virginia and Illinois. Ohioans Mallory Sterba and Colleen Schohl are solid defenders from the Cleveland area. Winning a US club national championship with their KUFC Premier team, Kelsey Havell and Sara NIles will be great additions in the midfield. Two goalies are among the newcomers as Amy Haggard of North Carolina and Karen Pavlick of New York head to Conway. Hailing from nationally ranked St Anthony's HS in New York is forward Lauren Kies. From the commonwealth of Virginia, Anna Tupy and Maggie Wilding are both great athletes who could help the Chanticleers offensively. Coastal's group is missing any knock out recruits but as a whole this class is solid and gives the Chanticleers numbers missing from most of the other signing groups in the league.
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Although Liberty's class is small in numbers, it stands well with past groups and will keep the Lady Flames a championship contender in the Big South. Newcomer Presbyterian has some ground to make up with a class that will be hard pressed to do well at the D1 level.
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| Mid-American |
1. Miami OH
2. Toledo
3. Central Michigan
4. Bowling Green |
5. Ball State
6. Akron
7. Northern Illinois
8. Western Michigan |
9. Ohio
10. Eastern Michigan St
11. Buffalo
N/A Kent State |
REDHAWKS RETURN TO AN OLD FAMILIAR SPOT
It's been a while but Miami earned its way back atop the league rankings in recruiting. The Redhawks knocked Bowling Green who had earned back-to-back top rankings. Coach Kramig inked players from some of the best clubs in the region and overseas. Midfielder Kathleen Callahan comes from powerhouse Walsh Jesuit HS and the Internationals club program as she captured nearly ten state titles combined. Defender Michelle DeZarn is another in-state signee from the Cincinnati FA club program. Twin sisters Jessica and Rachel Byron head over from Indiana where they shared Northern Indiana co-player of the year honors at Marian HS. The most dynamic additions to this program and a key factor in their ascent to the top spot are Swedish players Eva Candia and Sara Lundh. The two play for Husie IF in the highly competitive first division of Sweden's soccer league.
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With a solid group of its own, Toledo may have brought in the best group in program history which earned the Rockets a spot in the regional rankings. Central Michigan does well again and remains consistent at the third spot. On a downward slope, Ohio has gone from second two years ago to fifth last year to only ninth best in conference recruiting this time around. Kent State is the lone school not reporting but do the Flashes have commitments in the works to finally move out of the bottom two in conference recruiting?
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| Northeast |
1. CCSU
2. Monmouth
3. Long Island
4. Wagner |
5. St Francis PA
6. Quinnipiac
No Reports: |
Fairleigh Dickinson
Mt St Mary's
Sacred Heart |
BLUE DEVILS ARE A UK EMPIRE
It's been a couple of years but CCSU is back atop the Northeast recruiting charts thanks largely to a big international contingent. Three Brits cross the Atlantic led by defender Karen Ray who has trained with England's U-19 national team. Two of her Arsenal club teammates also make their way to the US as midfielders Clio Tregear and Beth Lloyd could factor into the Devils offense. Coach D'Arcy added more UK flair with two strong transfers. Leah Blayney comes from Auburn and has played with the Australian U-20 team and Hannah Bromley transfers out of Tennessee Tech and is a recent New Zealand full national team addition. Stateside, CCSU inked Albertson Fury defender Corrine Alexinas and Erica Celini of Yankee United as both claimed state championships with their club programs. Heading up to New Britain from just south in New Jersey is all-state midfielder Abby Graham. This rookie class is solid enough to land CCSU among the nation's Top 100 recruits for the first time in program history.
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After finishing ahead of the pack in 2006, Sacred Heart has not reported a signing group for this fall but preliminary information has Coach Bonner's latest additions among the best in the league. Long Island continues to pull in players that place the Blackbirds in the top half of the league in recruiting. While St Francis appears to fall back in the crowd again, it is always a bit misleading as the NEC often has several schools who never report signings or do so very late.
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| Pac-10 |
1. UCLA
2. California
3. Washington
4. USC |
5. Oregon
6. Stanford
7. Arizona
8. Arizona State |
9. Washington State
10. Oregon St |
MORE POWER FOR THE BRUINS
In a league that has fast become a recruiting juggernaut, UCLA gathers in a group that is ranked first in the Pac-10 for the second year in a row. The Bruins again struck gold in their home state and then splashed in a few more additions from around the US for this latest signing period. Four newcomers have US youth national team experience including two of the top defenders in the class of 2007. Lauren Barnes and Kylie Wright are mong the Top 10 recruits this year as both have been recent US U-20 national team candidates and both won ODP national championships with Cal South. Those two youth All-Americas could see midfielder Sarah Salazar of Oklahoma on the pitch with them after her years of regularly being a youth national team player. From the highly competitive Eagles club out of Camarillo, Nicole Sweetman heads to Westwood as both a club and ODP national champion. A fifth recruit ranked among the Top 75 is Taylor Cochran, a regional ODP member and all-state midfielder from Washington. Coach Ellis wasn't done with those impressive additions as she plucked more from some of the best club teams in America including Elise Britt from Santa Rosa United, Dana Wall from Sereno and Carli Castaneda from San Diego Surf. All three won club state championships while Castaneda has been an all-CIF performer in the prep ranks and has been a part of the regional ODP unit. Another all-CIF forward with numerous high school honors is Elizabeth Zadro from Mater Dei high. In all, UCLA's rookies are an impressive bunch with nine among the nation's Top 500 and a couple more very capable of contributing on a very deep roster.
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He may have left the Golden den, but Kevin Boyd signed a class at California that is not only second best in the Pac-10 but one that is among the top two in Cal history. After abysmal seasons recently, Washington may have righted itself with a Top 25 group that is third best in the league. USC's class gets the Women of Troy back in line with their top-ranked 2005 group after last year's small, unranked set. On the flip side, Oregon State has been among the bottom three for three years running and Washington State, after some success recently, has developed a downward trend in a league stacked with recruiting.
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| SEC |
1. Vanderbilt
2. Georgia
3. Tennessee
4. South Carolina |
5. Florida
6. Auburn
7. Kentucky
8. LSU |
9. Alabama
10. Arkansas
11. Mississippi State
12. Mississippi |
VANDY ZOOMS FROM THE BACK
Going from dead last in SEC recruiting last season with a small group, Vanderbilt hit the mark in 2007 with the best signing period in school history. Eight different states send newcomers to Nashville as Vandy adds sisters Molly and Megan Kinsella from Memphis and two North Carolina products in Catherine Wearn and Megan Eddings. The Tar Heel state signees both won high school championships along with state titles with their Greensboro Twisters squad. The Kinsellas were both all-state performers as Molly has been a regional ODP forward. The real deal for Coach Coveleskie begins with three recruits ranked among the nation's Top 75. Former US youth national team pool members Mary Rachel Reynolds and Rachel Bachtel are excellent additions. Bachtel is among the top five keepers in this class and Tophat Gold defender Reynolds has been a youth All-American. Another youth All-American and another recruit from Greensboro Twisters is Hannah Gonzales, an all-state forward and regional ODP player. Going for big numbers, the Commodores brought in Kristine Chaklos, a defender with several national finals appearances with her Michigan Hawks squad and the state ODP team. From the Cal North ODP squad, Taylor Claxton heads the longest distance of the newcomers and Devan Council of Nevada and Katie Dean of Florida will roll up from solid club programs that won state titles.
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Vandy may have stolen the press for 2007, but it's Georgia who is on a hot roll with another class second in the SEC. After last year's national Top 10 group, the Bulldogs secure another great one among the Top 20. Sneaking up on everyone is South Carolina with signings that have improved steadily three straight years. Alabama's huge class may be its best in over a decade. Although nationally competitive in season, Mississippi has really moved down the charts the last three years in recruiting and joins rival Mississippi State as the only two league schools not among the nation's Top 100.
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| Southland |
1. Stephen F Austin
2. Texas State
3. Sam Houston St
4. Lamar |
5. Texas-San Antonio
6. McNeese State
7. Northwestern State
8. Central Arkansas |
9. Nicholls State
No Report:
SE Louisiana |
LADYJACKS SWEEP UP FOR TOP HONORS IN SLC
Take Texas, take Canada, and mix in a little Las Vegas and you get a cocktail that wins the Southland recruiting battle in 2007. Stephen F Austin brought in solid talent near home, three Canadians and Courtney Bauder, a four-time club state champion goalkeeper with her Rebel Select team in Nevada. From Sting Royal, midfielder Brittney Barker is a top recruit out of Texas with solid credentials at Keller HS. Two more Longhorn state products join up at SFA as Sarah Gregory comes from the D'Feeters club and Kelli Barnes plays defensively for Solar. Forward Megan Cash returns near home after transferring from Tulsa where she earned Conference USA All-Freshman honors after leading the Hurricanes in scoring. From north of the border comes a trio of successful Maple Leaf soccer stars. Ontarians Kesia Broome and Jamie Snow bring solid club experience down to Texas. Broome has played with the provincial team in Ontario while Snow has competed at the highest club level, winning the Ontario Cup and a national championship. After two straight seasons with the second-best crop in the Southland, Coach Frias turned it up this year for his first finish on top in conference recruiting.
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Making great strides is Texas State as the Bobcats have gone from sixth in league recruiting in '05, to fourth in '06 to now second in '07. No longer the league's newest team, Sam Houston St did a better job mostly with the addition of Brazilian Luana Miessa. Inaugural program Lamar has a solid group to launch their program and the entire class could arguably be among the top two in this league despite a current ranking at fourth. Second-year member Central Arkansas is quickly becoming partners with Nicholls in bringing up the rear in Southland recruiting.
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| United Soccer |
1. Utah Valley St
2. NJIT
3. Longwood |
No Report:
Delaware St
Howard
South Carolina St |
THE VALLEY IS UP AGAIN
In this fledgling soccer conference that has a big lineup change in 2007, Utah Valley repeats as the best recruiting program. North Dakota St, South Dakota St and IFPW are off to the Mid-Continent, and NJIT has joined in, but Utah Valley offers a sesnse of order with their second year atop the recruiting ranks. Second-year coach Anderson did so largely with in-state talent including four players who earned all-state honors in Utah. Versatile local product Danielle Anderson is among the best of this group and was area Player of the Year. Keeper Hailey Brown and midfielder Lauren Bluth captured state crowns with their Sparta United club team. Two high school state champs from Utah join the Wolverines as Madeline McQuarrie and Taryn Smith are two of the seven preps staying in-state for UVSU. Along with her experience on the ODP state team, defender Sara Walker brings three state championships with her from Catalina Foothills in Arizona. Rounding out the Wolverines is another all-state performer as Andi Bagdan heads down from Oregon.
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In just its second year, not much can be made of this league yet, especially when schools like Howard, Delaware State and SC State often fail to report any news on their recruits or their programs even during the season. New member NJIT is likely to have success soon especially with this year's group of rookies that hail from five states and includes three internationals.
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