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2024/25 freshman class Olympic sports official NLI signing news (Signing period - 11/8/2023-8/1/2024)

AztecBuff

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With next Wednesday (November 8th, 2023) being the start of the signing period for the frosh class of 2024/25 for all Olympic Sports, thought I'd start this thread. As with prior years' threads where I did this, It will be used throughout the signing period to post any news (tweets, articles, pictures, videos, etc.) of future Olympic Sport Buffs officially signing their National Letters of Intents (NLI's).

Want to note, that unlike football and basketball that probably more Allbuffians are aware of, ALL other NCAA Division 1 (and Division 2) sports just have one long signing period (no "early" and "regular" signing periods like football and basketball). For the 2023 frosh class, that "other" sports signing period is 11/8/2023 - 8/1/2024.

As always, if/ as any Allbuffians see any official signing news for any future Buffs, please feel free to post it.

The main purpose of this thread is NOT to post news of newly found future Buffs, which is already covered in the http://www.allbuffs.com/threads/recruiting-news-olympic-sports.101643/ thread. However, If any new (unknown to us) commits do pop up during the signing process, I'll probably post them both places (with more detail on them being put in the main recruiting thread).

Note- With the option of some senior year Buffs still having an additional (Covid-19) eligibility year granted to those athletes who, along with their schools, want them, it will be interesting (at least to me) to see how much if any the freshmen classes are smaller over the next year or two.
______________________________________________________________________

Note - I'm going to complete the below with specific known verbal commits later today or tomorrow, but since I just copied and pasted from last year's thread thought I'd keep the bones of last year's thread without the specifics for now.

For ease of reference, the below tables are pulled from info in the main recruiting thread (post numbers listed are to posts in that thread) and lists the expected signers for next academic year (2024/25) we know about so far that could be signing as early as November 8th. I'll also list when those known verbals, as well as the many previously unknown commits who have signed on to become Buffs, are verified as having signed on to become future Buffs.
(Note- with these sports getting much less recruiting exposure than, say, football, it's much more likely that some listed below may end up going to another college and that many I didn't know about will end up being Buffs.)

Cross Country/ Track and field (Men's & Women's):

Track and field commits_as of 2023-10-23_2024s only.jpg


Known to have Signed NLI - Men's - ; Women's - Miller, Wilkes, Zawatski
Previously unknown signee(s) - Men's - ; Women's - Lopizzo (Post #4), Morganti (Grad transfer; Post #7), Goetz (Post #18)

Golf (Men's & Women's):


Golf commits_as of 2023-10-23_2024s only.jpg

Known to have Signed NLI - Men's - Paxton; Women's - Givens
Additional previously unknown commitment signee(s) - (Women's) - ; (Men's) –


Lacrosse:


lacrosse commits_as of 2023-10-22_2024s only.jpg


Known to have Signed NLI – Byerly, Brower, Cosby, Hoover, Rogala

Previously unknown signee(s) -

Skiing (Men's & Women's):

None known about before the signing period.

Previously unknown signee(s) -

Soccer:


Soccer commits_as of 2023-10-23_2024s only.jpg



Known to have Signed NLI - Holley, Puff
Previously unknown signee(s) -

Tennis:


(None known of ahead of time.)

Known to have signed NLI -
Previously unknown signee(s) - Alexin (Post #6)

Volleyball:


Volleyball commits_as of 2023-10-23_2024s only.jpg


Known to have Signed NLI - Schiff
Previously unknown signee(s) -

______________________________________________________________

(Note- it seems team sport athletes usually verbally commit AND often sign their NLI’s much earlier than those in the “individual” sports (golf, tennis, track & field/ cross country and, especially, skiing), so expect more future Buff individual sport athletes to become known and sign as the signing period goes on.)
 
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I have now updated the original post with lists of the verbal commitments I know about for all the Olympic sports.
 
Vball's Ms. Schiff is the 1st (and so far only) future Buff that their CU team has officially asknowledged as having formally signed.

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to her!

 
And, the track and field and cross country teams announce their 1st signer, and as often happens in those sports she's also the 1st signer I didn't know about this recruiting cycle. She is middle distance/ distance runner Gioana Lopizzo, who currently competes with and attends La Costa Canyon HS in Carlsbad, California.

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to her!

 
And the women's track and field team tweets out on the signings of 2 more incoming Buffs, (both of whom I did know about ahead of time).

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to Ms's. Miller (hurdler) and Wilkes (sprinter)!




 
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1st unofficial/ unconfirmed info on a Buff signer (that I also didn't know about previously), and it's one of the teams that have one of the smallest roster - looks like tennis may have an incoming Buff in Valerya (Lera) Alexin, who per the below tweet currently competes with and attends Olanthe Northwest HS in Olanthe, Kansas.

 
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Track and field / cross country formally announced the signing of the 3rd (and final one I knew about previous to signing day) women's team commitment in distance runner Emma Zawatski.

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to her!


_____________________________________________________________________________________

Also, although the thread title says this thread is for freshmen signers, did want to mention that track and field/ cross country also announced the signing of a distance runner transfer who I assume might be in Boulder next semester? She is Olivia Morganti, who I'd guess will be a grad transfer from Penn.

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to her also!

 
I just started looking into Instagram, and it looks like women's golf formally announced the signing of the one incoming frosh I knew about.

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to Ms. Givens!

 
With its smallest classes I can remember (I know of only 2 verbals), soccer announced the signing of one of those 2.

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to Ms. Puff!

 
Lacrosse always seems to be the team with one of if not the lowest social media presence among CU teams, but I did see that in their Instagram stories they included a post from one of the student-athletes, Amelia Byerly, which looks to be their confirmation that she has signed on to become a Buff. (Ms. Byerly's Instagram account is set to private, so I can't post her post here.)

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to her!
_______________________________________________________________________________

Also, track and field multi's coach Lindsey Malone, who is probably the best Buff coach I know about on social media in ANY sport, included the below from one of the track and field commits (Myla Wilkes, also see post #5 above).


 
Article after the men's golf team signed the one commitment I knew about, Parker Paxton.

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to him!

Article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/11/8/...ns-wyoming-prep-star-to-letter-of-intent.aspx

"
Men's Golf November 08, 2023 David Plati, SID-Emeritus/Athletic Historian

Edwards Signs Wyoming Prep Star To Letter-of-Intent​

Riverton’s Parker Paxton Boasts Tremendous Credentials


BOULDER — University of Colorado men's golf coach Roy Edwards announced Wednesday that he has signed Parker Paxton of Riverton, Wyo., to a national letter-of-intent to join the Buffalo program starting in the 2024-25 season.

Paxton, a dual sports star in golf and basketball at Riverton High School who plays out of Riverton Country Club. He is a four-time high school state champion and has numerous top five finishes in amateur play, along with being a two-time qualifier for the U.S. Junior Amateur and qualified for and played in the U.S. Amateur this past August at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, one of the youngest participants in the 312-man field.

"Coach Edwards and coach (Derek) Tolan are the perfect coaching duo," Paxton said. "They showed unmatched realness during the recruiting process and I hit it off with both of them immediately. They have my full trust, and I have to include my man (strength coach Steve) Englehart as well."

"On my visit, the facilities blew me away," he continued. "They have every resource I need to reach my potential as a golfer and athlete. From the golf facilities itself, the weight room to the nutrition program, an athlete at CU gets treated phenomenally and has everything they need to be successful, and then some."

Paxton committed to the Buffaloes after the first day of the Wyoming high school championship his junior year (Sept. 16, 2022). Edwards was there in person that day and committed to him after he shot an opening round 6-under par 65. Tolan was there on day two and he told him separately after he finished with a 72 and a 19-stroke victory; since, he couldn't wait for signing day over a year later to arrive to officially join the program.
...

Paxton will enroll for fall 2024 semester, joining a team which at present will have a roster of five seniors, two juniors and three sophomores.
"
 
It looks like Ms. Schiff's signing (also see post #3) is the lone one for volleyball for today, and there is an article on her commitment at https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/11/8/colorado-volleyball-adds-one-new-buff-on-signing-day.aspx.

"
Volleyball November 08, 2023 by Courtney Huck, Assistant Director

Colorado Volleyball Adds One New Buff On Signing Day​


BOULDER - Colorado women's volleyball signed one student-athlete Wednesday, head coach Jesse Mahoney announced.

The Buffs added Gwenyth (Gwen) Schiff, a 6-1 pin hitter from Urbana, Ill. She played all four years of high school volleyball at Urbana High School, and she spent her club seasons with Prime Time and Illini Elite. While playing with her club teams, she made the all-tournament team at various tournaments and earned an All-Star award at AAU Nationals. Her team also earned first place in the Ruby Division for 17 Open at 2023 AAU Nationals.

"It's a small class for the moment, but it certainly packs a punch," Mahoney stated. "Gwen is a powerful, dynamic athlete who will thrive here in Boulder. She has experience at both pins, but as a lefty she projects as a true opposite hitter in our system. With her quick footspeed and arm swing, she has the potential to be very successful in a tempoed offense."

Additionally, Schiff made the USAV Great Lakes Region All-Star Team in June 2022, was named to Prep Volleyball's Top 150 in 2022 and 2023, and was invited to the NTDP Great Lakes Region Accelerator.
...

Although signing day is over, Coach Mahoney commented that he and his staff are planning on bringing more Buffs into the fold before next season.

"We are still actively recruiting for the 2024 class and expect to announce further additions this spring," Mahoney said.
"

A highlight video for her attached to the article -

 
Article about Ms. Givens (also see post #8) signing onto being the next women's golf Buff -




Direct link - https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/11/8/...dney-givens-set-to-join-buffs-in-2024-25.aspx

"
BOULDER — Sydney Givens, one of the top junior golfers in the state of Texas, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play golf and continue her education at the University of Colorado in 2024-25 head coach Anne Kelly announced on Wednesday.

Givens is a senior at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas, where last spring she led the Vipers to the school's first Texas State Girls Golf Championship. She was the individual runner-up at the 2023 State Championship, taking second in a playoff.

Givens was the 2022 Texas Individual State Champion as a sophomore, helping the Vipers to their second-straight 6A runner-up finish.

The three-time reigning District 25-6A and Region IV individual medalist, Givens holds Vandegrift school career records for career wins (12) and rounds of par or better (33) and season marks for wins (four), scoring average (70.7) and low tournament score (-9).

"We are extremely excited to add Sydney Givens to our team," Kelly said. "She is a tremendous player that has love and enthusiasm for the Buffs! She is competitive, hardworking and has a great attitude. Sydney will be a great addition to the women's golf team."

Givens is a two-time American Junior Golf Association national champion and owns seven top five finishes on that circuit. Her first national medalist honor came at the Stewart Cink Championship in June 2021 and followed that up a year later at the Mizuno/Greyson Sigg Junior Championship.

She won the Mizuno/Greyson Sigg Junior title at the Deerwood Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla., with a 54-hole score of 10-under par. Included in that was a career-low tying 66 (-6) in the final round.

Givens has 78 career wins between the junior and high school ranks, including June's U.S. Girls Qualifier at the Sugar Creek Country Club in Sugar Land, Texas.
"
 
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Add Addie Brower as the 2nd known 2024 frosh lacrosse Buff to have officially signed. (CU lax's Instagram story included a link to a picture Ms. Brower posted as a live story.)

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to her!
 
A few different Twitter posts I found related to the signing of a few Buffs:

Track and fields/ cross country's Emma Zawatsky -




Volleyball's Gwen Schiff -




Soccer's Hannah Puff -

 
Confirmation of Ms. Alexin's signing (see post #6) on to become a tennis Buff.

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to her!

 
Track and field has announced another women's team addition not previously known about (at least by me). She is multi-eventer and high jumper Ava Goetz, who will be heading to Boulder from Springdale, Arkansas.

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to her!

 
Article on the newest track and field (and in some cases cross country) Buffs. (Interesting to me that so far no new men's commits have been announced, with all 6 so far being women.) - https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/11/9/cross-country-buffs-add-six-athletes-on-signing-day.aspx

"
BOULDER - The Colorado cross country and track and field program added six new Buffs on signing day. The signing class includes Ava Goetz, Myla Wilkes, Abby Miller, Gioana Lopizzo, Olivia Morganti and Emma Zawatski.

All six of these women look to make a big impact for the Buffs in the future and the cross country and track and field program couldn't be more excited to welcome these newcomers to the Colorado family.

Goetz comes from Fayetteville, Ark. where she attends Fayetteville High School. She also received offers from SMU, Mizzouri and Oklahoma State, but chose to rep the black and gold for the Buffs. Goetz is a multi-event athlete, winning the state heptathlon championship this past May. She was a state champion in the high jump with the leading mark in Arkansas and sixth best mark in the nation for the class of 2024. Goetz is also a two-time 800m 6A Arkansas Indoor State Champion, winning in 2022 and 2023.

Wilkes was born in Kansas City, Mo., grew up in Eudora, Kansas and now resides in Broomfield, Colo., attending Erie High School. She joins the Buffs as the top 200m runner in the state of Colorado after winning the 200m at the 5A State Championships in 2023. As a result of her performance, Wilkes was named First Team All-State. Wilkes also received offers from Boise State and the Air Force Academy but chose Colorado because of the team environment as well as the coaches.

Miller joins the Buffs out of Brentwood High School in Brentwood, Tenn. She holds the fifth best junior class 400m hurdle time in the country. Miller earned All-State honors in the 300m hurdles while placing fourth in the 400m hurdles shortly after. She was named to the 2023 Main Street All-Midstate Team after finishing second at state D1AAA. Miller also has a fourth-place finish at the Nike Outdoor Nationals to her name.

Lopizzo is a long distance runner out of Carlsbad, Calif., attending La Costa Canyon High School. She was named one of the April Athletes of the Month in 2023 by the San Diego Union Tribune. Lopizzo took home first at the Coastal League Cluster Meet after leading from start to finish and winning by more than a 1:15 margin.

Morganti is taking her talents to Colorado from the University of Pennsylvania. She is originally from Syracuse, N.Y. and attended Christian Brothers Academy. In high school, she earned All-American status after a fifth-place finish in the steeplechase at the New Balance Nationals and owned a No. 9-ranking nationally in the 2K steeplechase. At Penn, Morganti was named to the 2023 Outdoor All-American Second Team and NCAA Outdoor All-Ivy Second Team while qualifying for NCAA Outdoor Nationals in the 3000m steeplechase. She also competed at the 2023 NACAC U23 Championships in Costa Rica. Morganti earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors in 2022 and 2023.

Zawatski joins CU from New Jersey where she attends Freehold Township High School. She was named the 2022-23 New Jersey Cross Country Player of the Year and the 2022-23 Gatorade New Jersey Girls Cross Country Player of the Year. Zawatski raced to the individual title at the state Meet of Champions this past season with a time of 18:38. She also won the Group 4 individual championship, leading her school to the team title as well as the New Balance Shore Coaches Invitational and the Shore Conference Championships.
"
 
Yesterday cubuffs.com released an article on newest tennis Buff Ms. Alexin (1st noted here in post #'s 6 & 17.) -




Direct link - https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/11/10...lera-alexin-set-to-join-buffs-in-2024-25.aspx


"
BOULDER – Lera Alexin, one of the top tennis players in the state of Kansas, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play tennis and continue her education at the University of Colorado in 2024-25 head coach Anthony Pham announced on Thursday.

Alexin is a senior at Olathe Northwest High School in Lenexa, Kansas. She plays for KCUT Academy a tennis club at the Overland Park Raquet Club in Overland Park, Kansas. There she competed against some of the best players across the country.

Currently ranked as the No. 70 player in the class of 2024 according to Tennis Recruiting and No. 56 from the United States Tennis Association (USTA) under 18. She is also ranked as the No. 1 player in the USTA Missouri Valley Section and the No. 2 player in the state of Kansas.

"We are honored and excited about Lera joining our Buff family next year," Pham said on Alexin's commitment. "First and foremost, Lera is a high-quality human who comes from a great family. She's a high achiever in the classroom, possesses a strong work ethic and is an exceptional athlete. Her coaches Eric Rand and Elliott McDermed have done a great job of giving her a very solid foundation. We feel strongly that her best tennis is in front of her and that she will represent our program in a first-class manner both on and off the court."

Her club record currently stands at 45-24 as a four-star recruit via Tennis Recruiting, going 23-7 against fellow four star.

As a student Alexin excels, posting a 4.0 grade point average as a member of National Honors Society at her high school, which was a leading factor in choosing Colorado. "I chose Colorado because of the great tennis program, strong academics, and beautiful campus."

Alexin looks forward to taking the court as a Buff next season, "Thank you to my parents, coaches and friends for supporting me with tennis. I'm excited to continue my athletic career at CU."
"
 
As I've mentioned previously, lacrosse does not seem to do much as far as announcing their recruiting class around the sigining period itself. (Looks to me they announced last year's class after the year started (Sept. 2022), and can't see where they've released an article yet for the current year frosh class, even though the roster has been updated in cubuffs.) So, I thought I'd do a few quick Google searches to see if I could find anything on the 6 2024 Buffs the team haven't acknowledged yet. (See post #'s 10 and 15 for the 2 I consider confirmed through the team including the student-athletes' posts in the team's Instagram Stories.)

I did find what looks like could be (obviously unconfirmed) confirmation on 3:

((Semi)-OFFICIAL Welcome and congrats to all!)

Her HS included the below Facebook post showing Blaine Cosby's signing:




Also from her high school, Anna Hoover is included in the school's announcement (along with a blurry picture) about their signers - https://athletics.lawrenceville.org...J7*MTY5OTgxNzcyNS4yLjAuMTY5OTgxNzcyNS4wLjAuMA..

And, a local (Aurora) news site has a blurry picture that shows Regis Jesuit's signing ceremony that includes a young woman with a CU flag underneath her near the middle of the signers, and per their listing of the school's commitments assume it is Phoebe Rogala -
(Not an official signing confirmation, but did also find an article about recruiting from a student-athlete perspective (from a couple days before the signing period began) in goalie's Elena Oh's school paper ( https://echhsechoonline.com/navigat...he-stressful-road-for-easts-student-athletes/) that (still) says she's a Colorado commit. Hopefully they'll have a signing ceremony they'll also report on at some point.)
 
Also re lacrosse's Anna Hoover, who I also noted in my last post, just saw this Instagram post about her signing from what looks like her speed and agility work and coaching group.

 
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After 6 women's track and field signers have been announced, we have the 1st on the men's team. He is John Bass, a multi-eventer who has been and is competing at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, Tennessee.

OFFICIAL Welcome and congrats to him!




 
The men's track and field team announces its 2nd signer for next (2024/25) year. He is Colorado (De Beque HS, in the city of the same name in the Grand Junction area) high jumper Scottie Vines.

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to him!

 

With only two signed and about eight graduating I wonder what the coaching staff has in mind for the roster. Is there another signing period in February? If so I would assume they will sign more players at that time. If not it seems they will be counting on transfers.
 
With only two signed and about eight graduating I wonder what the coaching staff has in mind for the roster. Is there another signing period in February? If so I would assume they will sign more players at that time. If not it seems they will be counting on transfers.

For all the Olympic sports, there's only one continuous LONG signing period that goes through August 1st, 2024.

I am also curious how the rosters will develop after so far pretty small frosh classes announced for both soccer and volleyball. (Amazing to me how quickly things have to transfer for coaches where this season becomes last season and next season becomes THIS season in a blink of the proverbial eye - I saw on Twitter that Utah soccer already announced 2 incoming transfers last Friday.)
 
With only two signed and about eight graduating I wonder what the coaching staff has in mind for the roster. Is there another signing period in February? If so I would assume they will sign more players at that time. If not it seems they will be counting on transfers.
I would not be surprised to see transfer portal additions along with late signings.
 
Via the below linked-to cubuffs.com article, the men's golf team has finished off its 2024/25 frosh by signing the 1st student-athlete for ANY Buff sport from China. He is Zeqian "Michael" Fang, from Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.

OFFICIAL welcome and congrats to him!

Link to article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/11/16/mens-golf-edwards-adds-top-chinese-amateur-to-golf-program.aspx

"
Men's Golf November 16, 2023 David Plati, SID-Emeritus/Athletic Historian

Edwards Adds Top Chinese Amateur To Golf Program​

Zeqian “Michael” Fang To Become First-Ever CU Student-Athlete From China


BOULDER — University of Colorado men's golf coach Roy Edwards announced a second recruit in the school's 2024 recruiting class on Thursday, as he signed Zeqian "Michael" Fang of Shenzhen, People's Republic of China, to a national letter-of-intent.

The first CU student-athlete, scholarship or walk-on, ever from China, Fang was a quarterfinalist in this year's U.S. Junior Amateur, with three top six efforts in AJGA competition along with several good finishes in smaller professional events. In the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) of November 8, he was ranked 279th, the 16th player representing China.

Shenzhen is located in the Guangdong Province of southern China, just due north of Hong Kong.

"We have another really good one coming in next fall in Zeqian," Edwards said, pointing out he likes to go by Michael. "Michael has really played some good golf the past few years. He is a top-class student on top of being one of the best players in China. He came to the U.S. this summer and played some very high-level golf while he was here, which was impressive. We had a great visit with him a few weeks ago and spending a lot of time with the team made his decision an easy one.

Fang cited several reasons for selecting Colorado over several other schools in his recruitment.

"For one, because I think the climate of Colorado is great and challenging, which means we can adept the different weathers on tour," Fang said. "Secondly, the facilities of Colorado are super convenient and excellent. What's more, I really like the atmosphere among the team, it's harmonious. All in all, Boulder is the most suitable place for me to improve my golf techniques and enjoy my college life."
...

He has a twin brother, Zekun, who often has caddied for him, including in this year's U.S. Junior Am. He has signed to play golf at UC-Santa Barbara.

At this time, Edwards does not anticipate adding to his 2024 recruiting class; last week, he signed Wyoming prep phenom Parker Paxton to a letter of intent.

"Michael and Parker together make for a tremendous recruiting class and both have a chance to be spectacular players," Edwards said. "Combining our existing team with this class, we couldn't be more excited for the future."
"

Edit -

 
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