ORLANDO – Head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson announced the UCF women's basketball signing class for the 2021-22 season on Wednesday, inking a pair of recruits to National Letters of Intent.
UCF adds a four-star guard in Laila Jewett and a wing with USA Basketball experience in Raychael Harjo to its roster for next season.
"Laila and Raychael are both perfect fits for UCF because they both believe in family first, academics second, basketball third. We're very excited about the addition of both of them to our UCF Family," Coach ABE said.
Laila Jewett
5-9 | G | Woodbridge, Va.
Bishop Ireton HS | Team Takeover
Laila Jewett adds depth to UCF's backcourt. ESPN listed Jewett as a four-star recruit while placing her 84th its top 100 for the 2021 recruiting class. She is the fifth-ranked overall player in the Virginia 2021 player rankings.
"I wanted to play college basketball at a high level, which led me to choosing UCF," Jewett said. "The coaching staff felt like a second family and that was the first thing I was looking for during my recruitment. They also have my major and as soon as I visited, I fell in love with the school. I truly believe that the coaches will develop me into being a better person and a better player."
What Coach ABE's saying about Laila:
"Laila is a combo guard. She can play multiple positions – one, two and the three. She's very athletic and will easily add to our defensive intensity. She played AAU for Team Takeover in Maryland. We got extremely lucky to be able to recruit Laila and get her commitment early."
Raychael Harjo
6-3 | G/F | Moore, Okla.
Moore HS | Arkansas Banshees
Raychael Harjo's experience with USA Basketball adds another dimension to UCF's loaded frontcourt. She averaged 12.9 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per contest as a junior at Moore High School. Harjo, who was named to the Oklahomian Big All City third team, led Moore to the Class 6A state tournament for the first time in 22 years.
"I chose UCF because I fell in love with the beautiful campus and the entire coaching staff," Harjo said. "UCF also offers the degree program I want to study and they care about all students' success. I knew I wanted to play basketball at a high Division I level. I wanted to grow and reach my full potential as a basketball player and as an adult. UCF offers all of this and even more."
What Coach ABE's saying about Raychael:
"We are super excited about Raychael. She is from Oklahoma and played AAU for the Arkansas Banshees. Raychael is very versatile and can play multiple positions for us. She's long, tall and can really shoot the ball."
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