Women’s Basketball in Top 10-Percent in Nation for Recruiting
The University of Maine women’s basketball program, which recently completed its 2012 recruiting season, has been ranked 36th in the nation out of 342 teams by the NCAA Division-I women’s basketball teams’ Chris Mennig, national scouting director with Blue Star Basketball.
The Black Bears locked up three student-athletes from the United States in the fall signing period before going on to ink six overseas student-athletes in the spring. Maine’s incoming class of nine has received high marks in terms of overall recruiting class rankings.
“Coach (Richard) Barron’s class is one of the largest and far reaching recruiting classes in the country for 2012,” Mennig said. “This day and age it is hard to find ‘diamonds in the rough’ anymore, but Rich and his staff have scoured the globe to find some. This is by far the top mid-major class in the country.”
Both Blue Star Basketball and the Collegiate Girl’s Basketball Report ranked Maine’s 2012 recruiting class as tops amongst the America East Conference.
“Signing nine players in a class is almost unheard of but a bold move by Coach Barron in trying to rebuild the program,” added Chris Hansen, the national director of prospects with ESPN’s HoopGurlz.
New players include: Michal Assaf, a 5-6 guard out of Ganey Tikva, Israel; Lauren Bodine, a 5-8 shooting guard from Louisville, Ky.; Chantel Charles, a 5-10 guard from Hackney, London; Mikaela Gustafsson, a 6-2 forward from Sodertalje, Sweden; Anna Heise, a 6-3 center from Halle, Germany; Milica Mitrovic, a 5-9 guard from Belgrade, Serbia; Sophie Weckström, a 5-8 guard from Espoo, Finland; Brittany Wells, a 5-7 guard out of Indianapolis; and Elizabeth Wood, a 5-10 guard and forward from Catlee, Va.
Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756