Nov. 18, 2016
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State head coach Carin Crawford announced the signing of four standouts to National Letters of Intent. Inking with the Aztecs for the 2018 campaign are Emily Bennett, Karli Canale, Haley Hagerty and Sophie Kuester.
Hailing from Oakdale and Oakdale High, Bennett signs with SDSU as a utility who has been an all-league and all-section choice in each of her prep seasons. More recently, Bennett earned All-America status the last two seasons and was named her league and section's most valuable player. She will bring five years of ODP national championship experience as well as leadership traits as an Oakdale team captain with her to Montezuma Mesa.
"Emily Bennett will make an immediate impact on our program as a dominant left-handed utility player," Crawford said. "Emily has the size and shooting ability that make her a threat both inside and outside, in addition to her ability to defend center if called upon. Emily is strong, competitive and versatile, and will give us a balanced attack on both sides of the offense."
A local product, Canale will stay in her hometown and play for San Diego State. The driver from La Jolla High enters her final season having played on varsity the previous three years. Canale helped La Jolla to a co-league title as a junior and a pair of runner-up efforts at CIF. A three-time all-Western League performer and elite player at the Junior Olympic level, Canale was voted by her teammates as La Jolla's offensive player of the year following her sophomore year and MVP last season.
"Karli Canale is a fast, aggressive attacker who wants to shoot and score," Crawford said. "She has high-level club experience under the coaching of Doug Peabody at San Diego Shores and plays for one of the top high school teams in the San Diego area. Karli has great water polo instincts and plays the game at a fast tempo that will be a great fit for our program. Karli is an Aztec for Life, as both her parents are SDSU alums. And we're especially pleased that some of San Diego's best local talent will represent SDSU."
Hagerty will make the short trip south from Rancho Santa Margarita to San Diego State in time for the 2017-18 academic year. While at El Toro High, Hagerty helped the Chargers to a CIF Division II championship as a sophomore by scoring the winning goal with 17 seconds left and to the finals last year as a junior. The center is a two-time all-CIF and all-South Coast League selection, and enters her senior campaign ranked in the top 15 for career scoring at El Toro. As a member of SET club, she has guided her teams to either a first- (twice) or second-place (twice) effort at the Junior Olympics since 2014.
"Haley is a strong center with a championship background in both high school and with SET club," Crawford said. "She has helped her team get to the CIF championship game during her last two seasons in high school and her strength, size and experience will become a formidable presence for our offense. We are excited to have another excellent prep player from El Toro High and SET club."
A native of Danville, Kuester signed her NLI as a three-year starter at San Ramon Valley High where it has gone 79-2 in her three varsity seasons, including a 27-0 campaign when she was a second-team all-East Bay Athletic League (EBAL) selection as a freshman. Kuester has developed into one of the top players in Northern California as she has been voted a first-team performer the last two years by both the EBAL and CIF North Coast Section. Kuester has also experienced success at the club level, earning All-America accolades after her team won the U14 national title at the 2013 Junior Olympics.
"Sophie Kuester is a talented defender from the powerhouse San Ramon Valley High program, and plays for one of the top clubs in the nation in 680 Drivers," Crawford said. "She has the size experience and athleticism we need. While her primary role is defender, she is a versatile player and proven scorer at any position in the pool."
The quartet joins a San Diego State team that won the Golden Coast Conference regular-season title for the third straight year and captured its first postseason tournament championship. With the GCC tourney crown came the league's automatic berth to the 2016 NCAA tournament where they ultimately finished in eighth place nationally.