Wisconsin women's basketball head coach Lisa Stone announced the names of the players who have signed letters of intent to play for the Badgers next year at a press conference Wednesday.
"It's certainly an exciting day for Badger women's basketball," Stone said. "This is always a great day to announce our signees."
This year's recruiting class, the fourth for Stone, includes Wisconsin native Lin Zastrow and two Minnesotans, Alyssa Karel and Tara Steinbauer.
Zastrow, a 6-foot-4 guard/forward from Jefferson High School, was named by Women's Sports Net Magazine as one of top 100 players in the country. She was also named to the first team all-state as a junior.
"Surely, there will be a difference when she gets to the college level, but the sky's the limit for this child," Stone said. "She can rebound. She's obviously a shot blocker. [Lin]'s great with the ball in the open court. She can play anywhere. When she's that tall and has the ability to shoot the three, to post up, to handle the ball, to play physical, to get in the open court, she's a big-time player."
Zastrow currently averages 19.7 points and five blocks per game. She also played with current Badger Caitlin Gibson at Jefferson, where the duo won a state championship together.
At point guard, the 5-foot-7 Karel is a two-time all-state and all-metro selection from Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minn. As a junior, she averaged 14 points and five assists a game.
"She can pass, she can shoot, she can handle the ball, and she can defend," Stone said. "This kid can flat-out play. I love her game. She's the type of point guard I'm looking for to take us to another level. She played against some of the best AAU teams in the country this summer, and she held her ground, offensively and defensively. She's one of the best I've seen. She's great already, and she's only going to get better."
The other Minnesotan, Steinbauer, is a 6-foot-1 post player from Bloomington. She is currently the top-ranked power forward in Minnesota and is ranked as the second-best player at any position in the state. Her Bloomington Kennedy High School team finished second in the state tournament last season.
"Tara Steinbauer, another Minnesota product that we fell in love with this summer, can play multiple positions, both on the perimeter and inside," Stone said. "Tara can step out and shoot the three. She fits very well into our offense. She can step away; she can go inside. She can play a lot of different spots."
Steinbauer and Karel were teammates in the 2006 Nike "End of the Oregon Trail" AAU Tournament this summer, and both received MVP honors during the tournament. They also played against Zastrow, so the three come into their freshman years already having built with each other.
As strong as the three new players are on the court, their classroom habits impress Stone just as much.
"I'm pleased to say that these three are tremendous student-athletes," Stone said. "They're all 4.0 students. They're quality people."
Although the young Badger team will not lose any players next year, Stone sees the three recruits being able to contribute right away as freshmen.
"It brings healthy competition to practice," Stone said. "They'll grow and they'll mature and understand that they're coming in to make an impact on our program. We have the same team back next year, and that's our job. We continue to recruit at a national level and bring the best players to the University of Wisconsin."
One of the biggest things Stone feels the newcomers will need to adjust to is the change of play between high school and college.
"Certainly, the game changes from high school to college," she said. "It's bigger, faster [and] stronger."
After all was said and done, Coach Stone and her staff felt very pleased with the recruiting process.
"The three already know each other," Stone said. "They know how we feel about them. We think they're terrific. … It's about relationships and the right fit. We have three young women that are coming in that are a perfect fit for Wisconsin."
