Ladyjack Soccer Adds Five in 2016 Signing Class
2/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin head women's soccer coach Wally Crittenden announced the signing of five student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday morning - a group that is set to join a Ladyjack program that has won five consecutive Southland Conference Championships.
The 2016 class is made up of all high school recruits from the state of Texas. The group consists of defenders Carli Arthurs (Lewisville HS, Solar Chelsea ECNL), Mari Gillespie (Kingwood HS, Challenge '98 ECNL) and Brooke Shirley (A&M Consolidated HS, Challenge '98 ECNL) and forwards Ravyn Hoelscher (The Colony HS, Dallas Texans) and Katie Jennings (Westwood HS, Lonestar '98 Red).
"We are very excited about this class," said Crittenden. "We have several players that can play multiple positions, so we'll see how things shake out when they get into camp here in August and see where they'll be able to be featured. All of them have very high competitive character, great instincts with the ball on the ground, and the ability to compete, collaborate and do things the way we like to do things."
Carli Arthurs • D • Lewisville, Texas • Solar Chelsea ECNL
Arthurs will come to SFA this summer with a host of accolades at both the high school and club levels. With her Solar Chelsea ECNL squad, Arthurs won a North American League Championship in 2013-14 and also made an ECNL Champions League national appearance the following year in 2014-15. During her time at Lewisville High School, the defender was tabbed First Team All-District as a freshman, sophomore and junior while being named the Utility Player of the District as a sophomore in 2013-14.
Arthurs is also expected to bolster SFA's already superb team GPA after showcasing great work in the classroom. She won the Principal's Award from 2012-14 at Lewisville and is a three-year A-Honor Roll member.
Crittenden on Arthurs: "Carli is someone who has very high-end speed and is very tenacious. She's someone who commits physically to everything that she does, not to mention she has tremendous delivery from the left flank. She's a player that can really whip in serves and test opponents from that left side. We feel that we have very good delivery from the right side and just are very excited about the balance in our attack that we will have with Carli potentially featured as our left side winger or potentially as a left back. She displays a competitive character, has a lot of respect for the program and for the school with the connections here to SFA, and we are just very glad to welcome her and her family back to campus."
Mari Gillespie • D • Kingwood, Texas • Challenge '98 ECNL
Expected to play in the center of the pitch upon arrival at SFA, Gillespie is a possession-oriented player with the potential to be dangerous on set pieces for the Ladyjacks. A member of the Challenge '98 ECNL club team, Gillespie has also been a standout for her Kingwood HS squad. As a sophomore, she was named to the 2014 All-State First Team. She claimed First Team All-District honors in each of her first three prep seasons (2013-15), was named the 2013 Newcomer of the Year and also secured Second Team All-Region recognition this past season. A 2015 Academic All-District honoree, Gillespie has been named team captain for the 2016 campaign.
Crittenden on Gillespie: "Mari is someone who has had all-state accolades and is someone who has played at a very high level along with Brooke [Shirley] on that same ECNL team. She's a player that has very strong athletic qualities, a very high level of competitive character and great maturity. She sees the game in a different way than a lot of other players and along with that comes her composure. Her set piece delivery is sharp, she's tremendous in possession and moving forward out of the back, and is going to be someone that I'm excited to see compete from day one. She'll likely be featured at the center back position or the holding center mid position depending on what kind of shape we play."
Ravyn Hoelscher • F • The Colony, Texas • Dallas Texans
Hoelscher will join one of the best scoring teams in the Southland Conference in 2016, with the opportunity to compliment SFA's other dynamic forwards including Amanda Doyle, Hanna Barker and Breanna Moore. A target forward with the ability to dictate tempo in the middle of the pitch, Hoelscher has played for the Dallas Texans club and attended The Colony High School. Prior to her high school career, Hoelscher was a First Team North Texas ODP selection from 2009-12.
Crittenden on Hoelscher: "Ravyn is a player that we expect to come in and potentially fill a target forward type position. She's very good at holding the ball up top, she's a tremendous passer and very good at dictating tempo in the attack. As we find ways to get her the ball, I know that with her skill set and with her instincts she'll recognize when and how to speed things up and when and how to slow things down. She's also a very good finisher anywhere in dangerous positions around the perimeter of the goal."
Katie Jennings • F • Austin, Texas • Lonestar '98 Red
Jennings is the second of two forwards in the 2016 signing class for the Ladyjacks. A very physical presence anywhere on the field, the versatile signee could be asked to play multiple positions during her collegiate career. She was named a team captain for her club team, Lonestar '98 Red, and for her varsity squad at Westwood High School in Austin for her senior year. As a sophomore, Jennings received Honorable Mention All-District distinction and followed that up with a second team nod last year as a junior.
Crittenden on Jennings: "Katie is a player that has shown passion, excitement, commitment both physically and emotionally in every game and every training session that we've seen her in. It was something that really drew us to her. She's an SFA legacy so that's great when you get to have SFA in the family come back. There's a lot of passion about our program and university and we're very excited about having her and her family. She's someone that we are going to feature as a winger forward depending on shape, or as an outside back. She'll be someone who we'll like to put out on the edges. She's definitely someone we want in those positions trying to impose herself."
Brooke Shirley • D • College Station, Texas • Challenge '98 ECNL
Rounding out the five-member recruiting class for 2016 is Brooke Shirley. An outside back from College Station, Texas, Shirley has experienced a wealth of success in both club and high school ranks. As a member of Challenge '98 ECNL in 2015, she helped her club qualify for the North American League Playoff. At the high school level, Shirley is a three-year letterwinner for A&M Consolidated High School. As a junior, she was tabbed First Team All-District and District 18-5A Offensive MVP. Academically, Shirley is a member of the National Honor Society.
Crittenden on Shirley: "I've known Brooke since she was in middle school from my time in College Station so reconnecting with her and her family and going through this process with her has been great. She's someone who has seen a very high-level of competition and we've witnessed fantastic growth and improvement every time we've seen her in the last year and a half to two years. She's someone that will likely be featured as an outside back along our trenches and is someone that I know once she gets in this environment she'll continue to improve on the great rate that she has since we first started watching her."
The Ladyjacks are the only NCAA Division I women's soccer program to win five consecutive league titles outright over the last five years, and with the addition of the five-member 2016 recruiting class, will aim for a sixth straight championship next fall.
"We're very excited about this class of field players coming in and feel that the depth and the competitive character of the athleticism will continue to refine our athletic profile as a program," Crittenden said. "We have a tremendous returning group coming back this spring and then we'll have this incoming class joining them in August. The new class is very talented and experienced and they will no doubt be coming in fit and hungry - ready to make their mark."
-SFA-
.@WallyballSFA breaks down the 2016 signing class for @SFA_Soccer. #AxeEm https://t.co/UCsQyQu8Rz
-- SFA All Access (@SFA_AllAccess) February 3, 2016
