Sept. 25, 2015
SAN DIEGO - Coming off of a 2015 campaign that saw San Diego State lacrosse set a program mark for wins and produce a school-record seven-game winning streak, head coach Kylee White introduced a 12-person 2015 recruiting class today.
The class of 2015 features some of the country's finest athletes, with competitors hailing from one of the most prestigious lacrosse conferences, the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM), New Jersey, Georgia, San Diego, Orange County, Northern California, British Columbia and Colorado.
The group includes three high school All-Americans, four all-conference or all-league selections, three all-county and all-section or all-group picks and a pair of all-state players and player of the year award winners.
"I am extremely excited to welcome this group of freshman to our program," White said. "It is a very talented class, adding skills and knowledge from a lot of different lacrosse backgrounds. This is one of our most decorated classes athletically and academically, and I believe their passion for this team and the sport of lacrosse, coupled with their competitiveness, will make an immediate impact."
Elizabeth Adams
Hometown: Annapolis, Md.
Last School: St. Mary's
Position: Defense
Adams competed in one of the toughest lacrosse conferences in the country, IAAM, earning two varsity letters for the Saints. She played club for Maryland United 2015 East and also played three years of varsity field hockey and ran the 4x200 relay, 55-meter sprint and the 300-meter sprint at St. Mary's, serving as a team captain in 2015 for the indoor track team. In addition to her athletic success, Adams was a member of the National Honor Society and named to the Principal's Honor Roll. Her cousin, Michaela Jarvis, was a three-year starter for the Aztecs, earning All-MPSF second team picks in 2014 and 2015.
Jenny Buckland
Hometown: Irvine, Calif.
Last School: Woodbridge HS
Position: Midfield
One of the top players in Orange County, she was a member of the LA/OC team at the 2013 and 2014 US Lacrosse National Tournament. A second team all-county player in 2014 behind 59 goals and 27 assists, Buckland produced a 40-goal, 23-assist senior campaign en route to first team all-county honors. Buckland is also an outstanding roller hockey player, having served as a defender for the United States' Junior Women's Inline Hockey Team which won gold at the 2013 FIRS Inline Hockey World Championships.
Shannon Gallagher
Hometown: Mount Laurel, N.J.
Last School: Lenape HS
Position: Defense
A first team All-State and All-Group 4 selection in 2015, Gallagher helped lead the Indians to back-to-back Olympic Conference and South Jersey Group 4 championships for the first time in the school's history, including a 20-2 record her senior season. She also excelled off the field, winning the Samantha Lucas Award for Art, the Art Excellence Award from the Lenape Art Show, was a member of the National Honor Society and graduated in the top 20 percent of her class. Gallagher reunited with a classmate and four-year teammate at Lenape, fellow newcomer Natalie Peel.
Kirstie Greenlaw
Hometown: Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Last School: Rock Canyon HS
Position: Attack
One of the top 2015 recruits from the Denver area, Greenlaw was named the Colorado Community Media South Metro Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year after leading ThunderRidge High School, which shares a team with Rock Canyon, to a 13-4 record and a Continental League runner-up finish thanks to her league-leading 70 goals. Her top performance yielded a U.S. Lacrosse High School All-American honorable mention, one of just six in the state, and a spot on Rock Canyon's Wall of Honor as the program's all-time leading goal- and point-getter. She was a four-time all-state and all-league selection, netting at least 50 goals each season, producing a career with 244 goals to rank first in the league, first among Colorado players at attack and third among players at attack nationally. Her father played one season of volleyball for the Aztecs.
Jill Haight
Hometown: Milton, Ga.
Last School: Cambridge HS
Position: Midfield
Haight was an All-American honorable mention in 2015, an Academic All-American in 2014 and produced three first team all-state campaigns at Cambridge. Cambridge's Female Student-Athlete of the Year, she was the Legacy Cup Leadership Award winner in 2013. The three-year team captain led the Bears in goals and assists each season, helping Cambridge to the state playoffs all three seasons, including a top four finish in 2015, a quarterfinal bid in 2014 and a semifinal appearance in 2013.
Paige Hudak
Hometown: Baltimore, Md.
Last School: Notre Dame Prep
Position: Midfield
Hudak earned three varsity letters for the Blazers, which appeared in two league semifinal tournament games in 2013 and 2015. She played club for Diamonds Lacrosse Club and competed on the 2011 U-15 MYLA All-Star team, helping the squad to an undefeated appearance in the national tournament. A four-sport athlete, Hudak also played three years of varsity volleyball, helping Notre Dame Prep to two consecutive league championship appearances and a title in 2015, basketball and indoor track. Hudak comes from a very athletic family, as her father played lacrosse at St. Michaels College, her mother played volleyball at Florida International, her grandfather was an All-American soccer player at Maryland and her cousin, Jenifer, is a professional skier and a two-time X-Games gold medalist in the women's half pipe.
Corinne Lafayette
Hometown: Danville, Calif.
Last School: Carondelet High
Position: Attack
A two-time All-East Bay Athletic League performer, Lafayette helped lead Carondelet to three North Coast Section Division I championships during her four-year varsity career for the Cougars. In her senior season, she netted a hat trick and recorded 1.7 assists per game for 90 total points in 21 contests, singlehandedly generating more than 25 percent of Lafayette's offense in 2015. Lafayette, who also ran two seasons of cross country for Carondelet, reunites with high school teammates Katie Merritt, junior Erin Jeffery, and sophomore Cierra Kocik on the Aztecs.
Grace McGinty
Hometown: Carlsbad, Calif.
Last School: Carlsbad HS
Position: Midfield
One of the best players from the 2015 recruiting class to come out of San Diego, McGinty was a first team U.S. Lacrosse All-American last season and an All-America honorable mention in 2014. In both seasons, she was a first team All-CIF and All-Avocado League pick, and was a team captain and the team's most valuable player each season, leading the Lancers in ground balls, caused turnovers, draw controls and points each of her final two campaigns. Her prowess helped Carlsbad to its first championship in school history, and the team's first two winning seasons (2014, 2015). Additionally, McGinty's brother, Noah, is a sophomore on Stony Brook's football team.
Natalie Peel
Hometown: Mount Laurel, N.J.
Last School: Lenape HS
Position: Midfield
Peel had an outstanding senior season as a team captain, scoring 66 goals and earning spots on the Olympic Conference first team, the Philadelphia Inquirer All-South Jersey first team, the All-Group 4 second team and the Burlington County Times all-county first team. Along with fellow newcomer Shannon Gallagher, Peel and Lenape High earned back-to-back Olympic Conference and South Jersey Group 4 championships for the first time in the school's history, including a 20-2 record her senior season. She also excelled in the classroom, serving in the National Honor Society her junior and senior years and she competed in field hockey and indoor track for the Indians
Jillian Schell
Hometown: Katonah, N.Y.
Last School: John Jay HS
Position: Midfield
A Brine national High School All-American her sophomore season, Schell was a two-time all-league and all-section honorable mention at John Jay as a four-year varsity starter. After a sophomore year in which she helped lead the Indians to their first state semifinal appearance, Schell also earned Hudson Valley National Team honors. A well-rounded student-athlete, Schell also played field hockey, was on the honor roll and was a member of her high school's select acapella group. Schell, her mother, who played lacrosse at Ithaca, and stepfather are all certified lacrosse officials.
Katy Sharretts
Hometown: Bel Air, Md.
Last School: John Carroll HS
Position: Goalie
After a sophomore season that saw her play for the All-American Under Armour Underclass Tournament Baltimore team and earn first team all-county honors, Sharretts was listed as one of the top 10 rising juniors in the country by Inside Lacrosse. After she picked up second team all-county accolades her junior season, Sharretts capped off her career at John Carroll as a team captain rated as the top goalie in the IAAM A Conference, producing a .455 save percentage and allowing 9.90 goals per game for first team all-metro and first team all-county nods. Her father was an All-American lacrosse player at Salisbury and her mother was a varsity swimmer at Salisbury.
Harlowe Steele
Hometown: Coquitlam, British Columbia
Last School: Dr. Charles Best Secondary
Position: Midfield
Steele, invited to Team Canada's U-19 camp in 2014, was named to the Box Lacrosse Provincial and National All-Star teams while playing for Burnaby Mountain Selects and Team British Columbia. She was. The 2013 Coquitlam Minor Lacrosse Association Female Box Lacrosse Player of the Year was also captain of British Columbia's box lacrosse team in 2011 and 2013. At the Canadian Box Lacrosse National Championship, Team BC won the silver medal in 2010 and 2011 and the gold medal in 2012 and 2013. Steele also succeeded in the classroom, named to Dr. Charles Best Secondary's honor roll with distinction each year of high school.