The Middle Tennessee soccer team and head coach Aston Rhoden announced the signing of seven student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the signing period.

The seven players come from all over, including three from California, one from North Carolina, one from Kansas, one from Florida and one international player from England.

The Blue Raiders add to the attack with three forwards, Amber Whitmore, Abbie Brown and Haley Nishimoto, while inking one midfielder with Jessica Steen. On the defensive end of the pitch, MT picked up defenders Sydney Navarro and Morgan Mauck as well as goalkeeper Celeste Barnard.

"I first have to thank my staff, players, and our support staff for the work they did in securing this very talented and versatile recruiting class," Rhoden said. "Our goal during this recruiting period was to increase the depth of our team without compromising its quality."

"With tough non-conference schedule and a rigorous C-USA schedule, we will need to be able to sustain a high level of play throughout the season," Rhoden said. "The versatility of this class will allow us accomplish this while minimizing injuries and fatigue to our team. Every member of this class has good work ethic, strong character, and a high competitive spirit. All came from successful clubs and high school programs and a few have experience at the region and youth national team levels. I can hardly wait to blend our new talent with our very experience and very capable group of returning players."

AMBER WHITMORE
Cypress, Calif. / Forward
Amber Whitmore played for one of the top-women's soccer high school teams in the state of California at Los Alamitos High School. Whitmore was awarded Most Valuable Player her sophomore year at Los Alamitos after netting 18 goals in the year. Her freshman year she recorded 16 goals and has 38 career goals for the team under the direction of Head Coach Haley Bolt. Whitmore was a discovery player for Arsenal and the Hurricanes in club soccer and was a captain on the Hurricanes for four-straight years. She has also played for Cypress FC, Long Beach FC, Eclipse and Strikers FC based out of California.

JESSICA STEEN
Riviera Beach, Fla. / Midfielder
Jessica Steen hails from Rivera Beach, Florida and has made strides on and off the pitch. At Suncoast High School she was a four year varsity player, while registering a 3.95 GPA and 4.91 HPA in the classroom. Steen currently ranks 34th in her class in academics out of 362 students. She picked up all-conference high school honors her sophomore and junior season playing at Suncoast and was also awarded team MVP and the Golden Boot award. She was named captain of her high school team her junior and senior seasons. She has played with the Wellington Wave Soccer Club for the last five years where the club won Florida State League Division II Championship in 2011-12 and was finalists in 2012-13 under the Division I level. Wellington made it to the Florida State Cup-Final Round of 16 in 2012-13 and was a finalist in The Orange Classic College Showcase and MSSL Winter College Showcase.

CELESTE BARNARD
Cary, N.C. / Goalkeeper
Celeste Barnard is a goalkeeper out of Cary, North Carolina. She has played three seasons of varsity soccer at Panther Creek High School where she was named all-conference and all-region her sophomore and junior seasons. In 2014, Celeste led her high school program to a 23-1-1 record, finishing State Runner-Up in Class 4A and the team ranked top-10 nationally. Her club team, CASL, won the North Carolina State Cup in 2011 after being finalists in 2010. The team won the Disney Showcase in 2010, while being USYSA Region III Quarter-Finalists in 2011. In 2012 they finished second-place in the ECNL Southeast Conference under the direction of Sean Nahas.

MORGAN MAUCK
Overland Park, Kan. / Defender
Morgan Mauck hails from Overland Park, Kansas and attended Shawnee Mission West High School where she was a two-sport athlete, playing soccer and basketball. While playing at Shawbee Mission West, Mauck earned 6A All State First Team accolades in 2014 and 6A All-Sunflower Midfielder of the Year. She's a three-time All-Sunflower League First Team member and a two-time Northwest Region Second Team member. The defender has 44 career goals and 9 assists for Shawnee. Her 23 goals in one season were the second-most in a season for her high school program. Morgan plays for Sporting Blue Valley and formerly played for KCFC Alliance. While playing for Alliance her team won the Kansas State Cup in 2008, while Sporting Blue Valley was a finalist in the ECNL Nationals in 2013 under Doug McLagan. Morgan holds a 4.5 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society where she is secretary of the organization. She is currently a finalist for the Scholar Athlete in KC Metro.

HALEY NISHIMOTO
Oakland, Calif. / Forward
Haley Nishimoto is a forward from Oakland, California. Haley led the country in scoring this past year heading into the Las Vegas Showcase for her club team, the Bay Oaks Botafogo. Nishimoto's club teams won the California North State Cup in 2012 and 2013 and were Region IV semifinalists in both years. In 2013 her team was the US Youth Championship bronze medal winners. At Bishop O'Dowd High School Nishimoto has played four years on the varsity team and has scored 38 goals adding 18 assists. While at Bishop O'Dowd the team won the CIF North Coast Section Championship in 2012 and 2013 and was the WACC League Champions in 2012 and 2013 as well. Haley was selected as captain in 2014-15 and was a WACC All-League Team selection. Nishimoto is on the Bishop O'Dowd Athletic Leadership Council and the Polynesian Club Executive Council.

ABBIE BROWN
Leeds, England / Forward
Abbie Brown joins the Blue Raiders from Horsforth High School in Leeds, England. At Horsforth High School she was named Girl Footballer of the Year in 2012 and Business Studies Student of the Year in the same year. She most recently played for the club team Bradford City Women's FC. From 2010-13 she joined Leeds United Girls Centre of Excellence for Bradford and Leeds where she attended three North of England Elite Performance Camps. In 2008 and 2009 her team Old Moderians won the West Riding Football League Cup and the District Football League.

SYDNEY NAVARRO
Claremont, Calif. / Defender
Sydney Navarro comes to Middle Tennessee from Claremont, California where she attended Claremont High School where she earned the Defensive Player of the Year Award and the Coach's Award along with garnering Sierra League Honorable Mention. Navarro played for the club team Legends North and won the Surf Cup and Albion Cup. Legends North was also National Cup Finalist under the direction of John King.

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