IU took its first step toward replacing five seniors set to graduate after the season during the early signing period Wednesday and Thursday.
The Hoosiers hauled in a large and talented class headlined by five-star wing Jaelynn Penn out of Louisville, Kentucky.
The IU class ranks 13th nationally and first in the Big Ten according to prospectnation.com. ESPN also ranked the five Hoosier recruits as the best group in the Big Ten.
IU Coach Teri Moren has known for a while she would need to make moves with the class of 2017 to replenish her team, and she got to work early. ESPN three-star post player Linsey Marchese and three-star forward Alexis Johnson both verbally committed to IU in 2015.
Marchese averaged 13.5 points and 8.3 rebounds for Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia, as a junior. Johnson hails from Houston and is rated the 44th best forward in her class by ESPN.
Three-star guard Keyanna Warthen out of Florida committed to IU in September of this year, and Penn followed shortly after. Penn is ranked 39th overall in her class by ESPN and was previously committed to Dayton before reopening her recruitment. She averaged 14.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for Butler High School in Louisville, Kentucky last year.
This past Sunday, three-star guard Bendu Yeaney from Lake Oswego, Oregon became Moren’s final verbal commit. Yeaney chose IU instead of a quartet of Pac-12 schools. The three guards added by the Hoosiers will go a long way toward replacing senior guards Alexis Gassion and Karlee McBride.
With all five recruits officially signed on to play for the Hoosiers, Moren can shift her focus back to her current squad as IU prepares to begin its regular season Friday at home against Presbyterian.
Jake Thomer
