The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1487679
TRACKING THE PACK JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 ■ 13 NC State Women's Basketball Lands Highly Touted Class After months of hard work on the recruiting trail, head coach Wes Moore and NC State women's bas- ketball have inked one of the nation's top recruiting classes. ESPN ranked NC State's class No. 5 in the na- tion, just behind Stanford. The Wolfpack secured the highest-ranked recruiting class in the ACC according to ESPN. Five-star guard Zoe Brooks, four-star forward Maddie Cox, four-star guard Laci Steele and four-star center Mallory Collier all signed their national letters of intent on Nov. 9, making their commitments to NC State official. Each of the four Wolfpack signees are top-75 recruits according to ESPN's women's basketball class of 2023 prospect rankings. Brooks is the headliner of that group. The No. 9 recruit in the nation committed to NC State during the summer as a four-star prospect but, after a great summer, earned five-star status and is now ranked as a top-10 recruit. The 5-foot-10 guard from New Jersey was a junior MaxPreps All-American and led Plainfield (N.J.) St. John Vianney High to a 32-1 record behind her 13.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game a year ago. Collier is the second-highest ranked recruit in the 2023 class, checking in at No. 55. The 6-3 center from Tennessee averaged 13.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1 block during her junior year at Bartlett High. She was also the first commit of NC State's 2023 class, announcing her decision March 18. Collier also had scholarship offers from Alabama, UNC and LSU, among many others. Steele, ESPN's No. 56 senior, is another tall addition to NC State's backcourt, checking in at 5-11. She is coming off a state championship season with Edmond North High in Oklahoma. Moore is excited about her ability to shoot and contribute in a variety of ways on the court. She chose the Wolfpack over USC, Northwestern, Georgia Tech and Texas A&M. Cox is Steele's AAU teammate, and she committed to the Wolfpack soon after the guard. The duo will team up once again at the collegiate level next year, and ESPN considers Cox the No. 71 prospect nation - ally. The 6-2 forward from Flower Mound High in Texas led her team in points, rebounds and assists dur- ing her junior season. ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK Coach Wes Moore's latest women's basketball recruiting class ranks No. 5 in the nation and first in the ACC according to ESPN. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN NC State Football Reportedly Close To Deal To Play Tennessee In 2024 Season Opener NC State football needed a Power Five opponent for the 2024 schedule after BYU canceled a home-and-home. Tennessee also needed such a game because its noncon- ference series with Oklahoma was taken away by SEC mandate. With limited options except perhaps each other, the two teams are reportedly closing in on an agreement to meet in Charlotte for the 2024 season opener, per the Raleigh News and Observer. BYU was to play in Raleigh in what would have been the first-ever meeting between the Cougars and NC State. The 2030 contest was to have been in Provo, Utah. In 2030, the Wolfpack already has a road game at South Carolina, in addition to hosting Charlotte. ACC teams are supposed to have at least one Power Five game on the slate every season. Independent Notre Dame counts, as did BYU prior to the Cougars recently announc - ing that they were joining the Big 12 Conference. BYU will join that league in 2023, which forced them to start trimming their schedule of 12 nonconference games down to three. NC State was among the teams that were cut from the Cougars' future schedules. NC State and Tennessee met on a neutral field in Atlanta in 2012 for the season opener. A string of big-play touch- downs and a turnover that led to a safety helped the Vols jump out to a 22-7 first quarter lead in what turned out to be a 35-21 triumph for Tennessee. That was the first meeting involving NC State football and Tennessee since 1939. The two have played each other just three times, with the Vols having a 2-1 edge. The rest of the NC State football schedule for 2024 in- cludes home games against Louisiana Tech and Western Carolina, which had previously been expected to be the opener, and a road date at South Florida. In ACC play, the Pack will host Duke, Georgia Tech, Syra- cuse and Wake Forest. The road games will be at Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and Pittsburgh. Former NC State Women's Tennis Player Saluted By NCAA Former Wolfpack women's tennis standout Jaeda Daniel continues to make history. In the spring, she was part of the first NC State doubles tandem to win an NCAA cham- pionship. This fall, Daniel became the first NC State student-ath- lete to become a finalist for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, which will be announced Jan. 12. The day prior to that, Daniel will be receiving a NCAA To- day's Top 10 Award, which recognizes 10 student-athletes who completed their eligibility in 2021-22 for their out- standing achievements in athletics and academics and also recognizes noteworthy character, leadership and activities. Daniel, who is currently playing professional tennis, was a two-time All-ACC Academic Team member. Outside the court and classroom, Daniel served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for both NC State and the ACC and was a member of the Pack United leadership board. Daniel was an active volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club, Vic- tory Junction Hospital and the Raleigh Salvation Army.