2023 Recruiting

Adam wrote:I am of the understanding that internationals on student visas cannot get NIL deals as it considered working. Only potential loophole perhaps would be signing NIL while in home country and being paid it in a way where they pay income tax on it in their home country.

That is correct.

For instance, going to their home country during the summer and performing NIL duties/work while at home.

DoubleDipper wrote:Highly regarded forward, Kennedy Dickie, from Kelowna, British Columbia, visited UP this weekend.

Listed at 6-0, she plays much bigger than that.

Committed!!

DoubleDipper wrote:Known Outbounds
MJ Bruno

MJ has committed to Montana...

DoubleDipper wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Known Outbounds
MJ Bruno

MJ has committed to Montana...

About half as far from her home in Spokane.

DoubleDipper wrote:
Known Outbounds
Emily Sewell

From her Instagram, Emily has indicated she is heading to Cal Baptist...and a new beginning.
 
Good for her!!

Liana Kaitu'u has decided to pursue her remaining college basketball eligibility close to home at Utah Valley. Good luck. Thank you for your efforts on behalf of the Pilots.

Utah Valley University women's basketball head coach Dan Nielson has announced the signing of University of Portland graduate transfer and Salt Lake City native Liana Kaitu'u. L'iana Kaitu'u spent the last five years in Portland, where she was part of a 2022-23 West Coast Conference Tournament championship team. The 6-foot forward prepped at East High School in Salt Lake City and was named the 5A State MVP in 2018.

"Liana is a huge addition to our program," said Nielson. "She's a versatile big who can play inside and out. She comes with championship experience in high school and college that will help to build our team's culture. We're excited to bring her back home where she can play in front of her family!"

https://gouvu.com/news/2023/5/4/womens-basketball-uvu-signs-portland-grad-transfer-and-slc-native-liana-kaitu-u.aspx

wrv wrote:Liana Kaitu'u has decided to pursue her remaining college basketball eligibility close to home at Utah Valley.

I was fortunate enough to travel to many of the team's away games this season, and the loudest fans at those games, by far, were the many members of Liana's family who had traveled from Salt Lake City to see her play on the road and in Portland.

It will be a lot more convenient for her family to make the 45-minute drive to her home games this coming season.

DoubleDipper wrote:I was fortunate enough to travel to many of the team's away games this season, and the loudest fans at those games, by far, were the many members of Liana's family who had traveled from Salt Lake City to see her play on the road and in Portland.

Also at the games in California were Chance Bucher's parents.

Chance, a walk-on who redshirted her first year and played sparingly this past season, joins Kelsey Lenzie as the only two remaining Pilots in the portal as far as I can tell.

Chance - Portal
Kelsey - Portal

Liana - Utah Valley
MJ - Montana
Emily - Cal Baptist
Keeley - Santa Clara

Alex - Turning Pro?
Maddi - Returning to Australia?

Emma - Removed her name from the portal and will remain at UP.

Kianna Hamiliton-Fisher has joined the Pilots as a grad-transfer from Long Beach St.

A 6-0 guard, next season will be Kianna's sixth year of college ball after gaining a Covid year and an injury year while at LBSt.

Started 31 of 33 games last year, playing 31.8 mpg and averaging 11.2 ppg.

LBS's coach left for the job at SMC.

DoubleDipper wrote:Kelsey - Portal

I had a chance to catch up one last time with Kelsey and her parents at graduation and learned Kelsey was ready to enter the work force and be an "adult," but then...

...Coach Sky took the head coaching position at Seattle U. in Kelsey's hometown, so now she is "considering" a year of grad school and one more season of basketball.  

I urged her to go for it, suggesting she has the remainder of her life to be an "adult," why start now!

IMO, the Seattle U. program has been a mess, and it would be good if Kelsey could help Sky turn it around.

wrv wrote:Welcome Natalie Fraley.

Finally!  PilotNation reported this on April 10...

DoubleDipper wrote:

wrv wrote:Welcome Natalie Fraley.

Finally!  PilotNation reported this on April 10...

Natalie is from just up the road in Kelso. By way of introduction to prospective recruiters, Ms. Fraley said this about herself as a junior:

PERSONAL STATEMENT
Hello Coaches,

My name is Natalie Fraley. I am a three-sport student athlete who is looking to compete in basketball at a high level collegiately while obtaining a solid education.  I am currently a starting 5'10" guard for my Kelso team.  We were Academic State Champions this season.    In addition, I am a state track participant in both pole vault and javelin and I also play front row on the Varsity Volleyball team that recently finished 3rd at State and were also Academic State Champions.

This past basketball season our Kelso team took second in our league.  We played well together, but came up short in the 4rd game of the playoffs against a tough Wilson team.  I was named to the First Team All-League, First Team All-Area, and Second Team All-Region.

This track season I made it to the Washington 3a State competition in both pole vault and javelin.  I had a personal record in javelin at state with a 114'7".

Academically,  I maintain a 4.0 GPA and am on the Honor Roll.  I believe that I would be a valuable asset on and off the court to any college that would be willing to have me.  I appreciate you taking the time to review my page.                         

https://www.ncsasports.org/womens-basketball-recruiting/washington/kelso/kelso-high-school/natalie-fraley

Ms. Fraley's high school basketball career was summarized by Utah State as follows:

HIGH SCHOOL: Averaged 22.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 6.0 steals and 4.6 assists per game as a senior at Kelso (Washington) High School... Named the Greater St. Helens 3A MVP and was an all-league honoree as a senior... Named the Cowlitz and Lewis County MVP and selected all-area as a senior... Selected to the all-Southwest Washington first team as a senior... Was first-team all-state (3A) and second-team all-state (overall) as a senior... Holds the Kelso HS single-game scoring record (41)... Set Kelso's single-season assist record... Is Kelso's all-time career assists and steals leader... Ranks second in the Kelso HS record book for both career points and career rebounds... Averaged 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 4.3 steals per game as a junior en route to earning all-Region Player of the Year honors... Letterwinner in basketball and volleyball... Nine-time Scholar Athlete in the Greater St. Helens League.

https://utahstateaggies.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/natalie-fraley/9163

And this:

"Natalie is a great addition to our squad," coach Ard said. "She has great size on the perimeter and her basketball IQ is off the charts. She has a great work ethic on and off the court along with good leadership qualities. She plays with a chip on her shoulder on both ends of the floor. We love what her and her family are about and she is a great fit for our family."

https://utahstateaggies.com/news/2021/11/10/womens-basketball-utah-state-womens-basketball-announces-two-signees-on-national-signing-day.aspx

I suspect UP recruited Natalie out of high school, albeit unsuccessfully. But after spending time lost in the wilds of Utah, and witnessing the Pilots win the WCC tournament, she perhaps thought better of the Pilots offer/interest. At least one recruiting site listed Natalie as a three star recruit. A sophmore to be, she will have three years of eligibility remaining.

Ms. Fraley will likely compete for playing time immediately. Go Pilots.

DoubleDipper wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Kelsey - Portal

I had a chance to catch up one last time with Kelsey and her parents at graduation and learned Kelsey was ready to enter the work force and be an "adult," but then...

...Coach Sky took the head coaching position at Seattle U. in Kelsey's hometown, so now she is "considering" a year of grad school and one more season of basketball.  

I am hearing that instead of transferring to Seattle U. or any other school, Kelsey Lenzie has removed her name from the transfer portal and will play another year for the Pilots while in grad school.

If true, besides being an excellent situational player, Kelsey would bring maturity and an understanding of Coach Meek's system to a relatively young squad.

DoubleDipper wrote:Chance, a walk-on who redshirted her first year and played sparingly this past season, joins Kelsey Lenzie as the only two remaining Pilots in the portal as far as I can tell.

Chance - Portal
Kelsey - Portal

As reported earlier, Kelsey removed her name from the portal, and now Chance Bucher, who was the last Pilot left in the portal, has signed with Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Eckerd, a very strong D2 team, reached the Sweet 16 this past season.

Apparently, Chance liked what she saw when the Pilots played in the St. Pete's Showcase Tournament there this past November.  

Unlike the men's team, the 2023-2024 roster is not posted on the PortlandPilots.com web site.

DoubleDipper wrote:I am hearing that instead of transferring to Seattle U. or any other school, Kelsey Lenzie has removed her name from the transfer portal and will play another year for the Pilots while in grad school.

Nope, not true!!

Kelsey turned down the opportunity to play at Seattle, removed her name from the portal, and will begin her "adult life" away from basketball.

The 2023-24 WBB Roster has been released:

https://portlandpilots.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster

The BIG surprise is seeing that Emily Sewell is still on the roster after earlier committing to Cal Baptist.

The other surprise is the addition of 5-9 Anna Eddy.  Anna is a St. Mary's Academy grad who played two seasons at Seattle Pacific U. where last season she played in 27 of 28 games with 26 starts, averaging 9.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

DoubleDipper wrote:The 2023-24 WBB Roster has been released:

https://portlandpilots.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster

The BIG surprise is seeing that Emily Sewell is still on the roster after earlier committing to Cal Baptist.

The other surprise is the addition of 5-9 Anna Eddy.  Anna is a St. Mary's Academy grad who played two seasons at Seattle Pacific U. where last season she played in 27 of 28 games with 26 starts, averaging 9.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

It is disappointing, baffling even arguably idiosyncratic that the athletic website maintained by the U has yet to publish a word about the additions to the team, via portal or otherwise, since the end of last season, save for the roster update just posted. It is nearing August. A brief narrative about the new team members and the returners at the website would be nice.

Regardless, I am curious how Emily Sewell can return without sitting out, though apparently she can. Is her purported transfer not binding in some way? Was the transfer not completed?

Emily's profile has been left up in error

Adam wrote:Emily's profile has been left up in error

As if in response, the website has removed Ms. Sewell from the roster.

Welcome ladies:

https://portlandpilots.com/news/2023/7/25/pilots-add-four-transfers-for-2023-24-season.aspx

We have seen Kennedy Dickie play--help on the boards is on the way.

Eddy is described as an "elite shooter."

Hamilton is described as smart and capable both offensively and defensively, she apparently can play point.

Fraley is "skilled offensively" and is able to play multiple positions.

Go Pilots.

For those of you curious how some of the new players have made it to Portland, what connections they may have which led them to the courts here, it is interesting to note that Anna Eddy's grandfather nearly became the men's coach at U.P. years ago prior to accepting a minor gig with the Portland TrailBlazers. I suspect coach Meek is acquainted with him and his kin. You might see Ric Adelman at some of the games next year should you attend.

https://spufalcons.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/anna-eddy/3389

Six degrees of separation?

wrv wrote:Six degrees of separation?

With the addition of Anna Eddy to the roster, the Pilots now have the first player in my memory whose parents are both graduates of UP.

Rick Adelman and his wife had six children (one, R.J., is deceased), four of whom went into basketball coaching like their father, and four of whom graduated from UP.
 
Anna’s mom was one of the two who did not go into coaching, but instead graduated from UP’s school of nursing in 1999, and last I heard works for Legacy Hospital.  Anna’s dad graduated from UP in 1998 and went to work for Nike.

Kristen (Hepton) Spear, freshman Lainey Spear’s mom, played basketball at UP and graduated in 1998. Lainey’s dad, Todd, did not graduate from UP (he attended UO), but was the marketing director in the UP Athletic Department in 1997 and 1998.

I think the six degrees of separation thing between the Spears and the Eddys and UP goes back at least a quarter century…

6'5" senior tansfer Piath Gabriel from UMass welcome. Started her career at UConn.
Recruiting closed for 23 with this late signing.
Remarkable to me that we now have 8 newcomers on this team since our championship run.
Go Pilots.

https://www.espn.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/235455

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FzSvhuVwTuc