With the women’s Division I season done and dusted, the preparations for the fall 2021 season can now crank up.
Coaches are set to hit the road for the first time in the beginning of June, with the recruiting dead period ending on June 1. Could there be a lot of late additions to this fall’s class? It’s unlikely, and with the release of the final update to the 2021 Girls IMG Academy Player Rankings, there is a clear picture of the best recruiting classes heading to DI programs in the fall.
Check out the May update to the Women’s DI recruiting rankings, looking at the Top 35 classes.
Please send any corrections or omissions to editor@topdrawersoccer.com.
1. California*
Commitments: D Ayooluwapo Oke (Tophat SC – No. 25), F Arianna Manrique (Tophat SC – No. 28), D Courtney Boone (Legends FC – No. 30), F Karlie Lema (MVLA – No. 36), F Velize King (Legends FC – No. 70), M Noelle Bond-Flasza (So Cal Blues – No. 125), F Alexis Wright (Tophat SC – No. 130), F Jordyn Young (Mustang SC – No. 146), F Aaliyah Schinaman (MVLA – No. 171), D Aasha McLyn (Beach FC – No. 174), D Maya Griffin (Legends FC – No. 199), D Cailin Bloom (Davis Legacy), M Kei Kitamura (FC Bay Area), M Marleen Rohde (Turbine Potsdam)
The volume of what should be solid players helps maintain Cal’s spot at the top of the rankings. The proof will be when they reach campus, of course. Ayooluwapo Oke has the makings of a very good outside back at the DI level.
Commitments: M Ally Sentnor (South Shore Select – No. 1), M Emily Colton (LA Galaxy San Diego – No. 5), M Bella Sember (NYCFC – No. 35), M Lauren Wrigley (PDA – No. 39), F Asha Means (Charlotte Soccer Academy – No. 47), M Emerson Elgin (STA Development Academy – No. 53), M Makenna Dominguez (LA Surf – No. 188), GK Emily Allen (NC Courage – No. 195), M Ruby Grant (Arsenal FC)
Sentnor was ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the most recent update, giving UNC five players in the Top 50 and moving them into No. 2 spot. Freshman Ruby Grant enrolled this spring and has made her debut after originally being part of the 2020 class, deferring to the spring of 2021 due to the pandemic.
3. Texas*
Commitments: F Trinity Byars (Solar SC – No. 2), M Tatiana Fung (Legends FC – No. 9), D Emily Jane (EmJ) Cox (Solar SC – No. 10), M Lola Stanley (Solar SC – No. 114), M Ashlyn Miller (Solar SC – No. 145), F Alexis Missimo (Solar SC), GK Megan Hogate (Slammers FC), F Holly Ward (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Missimo has already graduated and reclassified for the purpose of this rankings, and has made her Texas debut. The rest must wait for the fall. Texas has a great class. Will it translate on the field for head coach Angela Kelly? The team has never won a Big 12 regular season or tournament title since she took over ahead of the 2012 season. Between 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes, UT may have their best group of her time in Austin.
