Wow, very cool.

Looks like a great addition

Maybe Coach Les should talk to Jen Gross about the value of recruiting players with size as well as guards...

This is a big get by Jen. Lilly is a true 6’5” 215 lb. athletic post who is rewriting record books in OC which is a tough place to play HS WBB. Just scored 57 last week! Averages 30.1 pg. I love Morgan, but I do not think she came close to those kinds of numbers in HS. I don’t think Aggie WBB has ever had this high a level of raw athleticism. At least in my memory. Maybe an historic addition to the program. Needs some great coaching to reach her potential, but we have the coach who can do the job in Jen Gross. Great news for Aggie WBB! I just wish she had a year to watch Morgan do her stuff.

Some International height coming our way!

She is really impressive in this video. She reminds me of a young Morgan Bertsch...great defense and inside/out shooting. We'll have some big girls inside with Stobbart and and our 6'5 recruit, Kenedy Lily, along with this Scottish belle who is very mobile and long...6'6 wingspan. Awesome!

Beautiful Scottish Lass! Agree with all the above, plus SHE ACTUALLY GETS OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS!!! Great addition for Jen. This recruiting class is getting very strong indeed. Scots are a tough breed, beautiful and smart. Yes, I am part Scot but not very biased. . . I think. . . . Oh well tried.

Just FYI Kenedy Lily was at the game yesterday wearing her Aggie blue and gold. Can’t wait to watch her play. She’s physically imposing. I’m pretty sure there was another recruit in the crowd but I’m not sure who she was

It's going to be interesting to see how Lily and Stobbart do trying to fill the void left when Morgan is gone. I think next year's team will be very different. Morgan, of course, has been a rare talent for us since she is so quick and agile with length. Stobbart lacks that quickness and needs to improve her interior game and, although Lily has dominated in her high school, adapting to the speed and physicality of the D1 game will be a big adjustment for her. I think they will both be projects and it will take time for them to develop.

According to the ESPN announcers statements in the UCI game, the Aggies coaching staff is known nationally for developing bigs to their fullest potential. ESPN guys also noted that Jen Gross is “one of the best and most respected women’s basketball coaches in the nation.” Thats some potent praise if I don’t say so myself.

I think the other recruit at the Honda center might have been Evanne Turner. Looks like a shooter

She looks like an impressive scorer and is very athletic. Etiwanda High School is ranked as the #4 team in the nation. Awesome!

"Kenedy is a true center with great size and strength as well as a soft touch around the basket," Gross said. "She is capable of having a major impact on the defensive end of the floor where she has a strong ability to protect the rim. We are impressed with her work ethic and character and believe that those traits will give her limitless potential within our program. Our staff is excited to help her develop her skillset while she earns her degree in biology here at UC Davis."

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2019/5/14/lilly-adds-towering-presence-to-aggies-frontcourt.aspx

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2019/6/3/womens-basketball-svanholm-heads-west-transfers-to-uc-davis.aspx

The UC Davis women's basketball program continued to ascend to new heights on Monday, as Head Coach Jennifer Gross announced the addition of 6-foot-6 transfer Lena Svanholm from Colorado State.

"We are so excited to welcome Lena to our UC Davis family," Gross said. "Lena is a very unique player who can run the floor, score inside and shoot the three. Her combination of size and versatility makes her an extremely difficult match-up and we cannot wait to start coaching her.

"She is going to add a new dimension to our team and will be a presence on both ends of the floor. In addition, Lena is a wonderful person as well as a very strong student. She is a tremendous fit here at UC Davis and will definitely help us carry on our tradition of success."

Wow! She'll be sitting this upcoming season due to transfer rules, obviously.

Summary of signees:

2018-19 UC DAVIS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SIGNEES
Name (Height, Position, Hometown / Previous School, Club Team)
Campbell Gray (5-10, Guard, Tigard, Ore. / Tigard HS, Oregon Elite)*
Megan Jones (6-3, Forward, Ayr, Scotland / Charnwood College, Leicester Riders)*
Kenedy Lilly (6-5, Center, Yorba Linda, Calif. / El Dorado HS '19, West Coast Premier)*
Lena Svanholm (6-6, Wing/Forward, Horsholm, Denmark / Rungsted Gymnasium / Colorado State)**
Evanne Turner (5-9, Guard, Fontana, Calif. / Etiwanda HS, West Coast Premier)*

* denotes previously announced signee
** must sit out the 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer rules

Just saw this on twitter. Clearly size was something that Coach Gross wanted more of. If we are going to be able to compete with the top tier teams, we definitely need depth in the post.

Unreal. UCD seems to be on the fast track to becoming the Zaga of women's basketball. I really hope we don't lose Coach Gross soon.

I'm hoping that Jen Gross will stay and continue to grow this program since she is a UCD basketball alum and has such deep connections to the Aggie Athletics family. UCD Athletics are very special because of the true student/athlete culture of all of our sports. I think it would be hard for her to leave UCD to go to another program that did not share those student/athlete values we have here.

She is, however, very close to Stanford coach, Tara VanDerveer, and VanDerveer thinks highly of Jen and what she's has done here. I would not be surprised if Stanford would come calling when VanDerveer retires. It might be tough to be able to keep her here if that happens.

Three bigs is going to be a luxury. I'm just hoping they will be mobile enough to run the floor well enough that we can still play up tempo. What do you think our guard situation is going to look like this year with the twins gone?

The mobility is a concern for me, too. The offense really thrives on movement--can't have a post that won't/can't run the floor.

I think the guard/wing situation is ok for the next couple years. Several other players got minutes bringing the ball up over the course of this season; their decision making will get a test during the initial parts of the year, but I fully expect things to gel like they did this year once the starting five and top portion of the bench get worked out.

I have no problems with the back court next year. Sanders will be trimmer and faster , Trepcic will be a force to be reckoned with. Wings in good shape. Post: lets see with Stobbart I think we are in good shape there as well. The new bigs should probably RS this year to be an incredibly strong team in 2020. IMHO. Jen will stay as well. She is a force to be reckoned with Nationally. Blue knows this as do all of us. But she is loved here. I think it would take a lot to get her to move.

I watched some videos of Svanholm in action at Colorado State. She is very slender and mobile and the way she moves and bounces around reminds me of Morgan Bertsch. I'm sure the coaches will be working with her during her mandatory sit-out year and she could be a really good player for us in 2020.

I'm not concerned about next year based mostly on the confidence in the coaching staff. They'll put the players in positions to perform at their peak.

Having said that, we definitely need players to step up in their roles. Replacing Kourtney at the point will be the biggest concern. Trpcic is the obvious choice, as she's had two productive years at D1 Albany, and sat and learned the Aggie system last year. The stats certainly point to her as someone who can step right in, but Kourtney had a knack for making a big play at the right time (big shot or big pass). We'll have to wait and see if Trpcic has that same quality.

The Ags were incredibly efficient last year from deep, mostly due to the twins step up in 3 point shooting accuracy. Kourtney went from 35% to 44% from the arc, and Karly went from 32 to 43%, from their junior to senior years. That's an incredible leap. Not saying we have to have that proficiency again next year from our starting backcourt, but we will need shooters who can keep teams from zoning us and sagging in on our bigs. McKeown started off hot, but ended up only shooting 20% from 3 during conference play. She needs to be a consistent threat. Of course, Bessolo is our most gifted long distance returner, as long as she continues to be selective with her shots. Early on in her career she'd shoot as soon as she touched the ball...she was more patient last year and needs to continue that trend. I'm also hoping that Hall works on extending her range. She is such a gifted player, and you can see the qualities of a good shooter, but teams in conference (and especially the BWT) were daring her to shoot from deep. Oh, and Song is back, too. I loved the way she plays, very unselfish, great wing defense, and a good shot when she takes it. She'll be another critical piece. I usually think most of the freshman will redshirt, but we may see one or two contribute. Overall, I think this team is the favorite again to win the BW.

Don’t forget Sanders. She didn’t play much last year, but when she did she did well for a Frosh player. I think the freshman 15 caught up with her a bit and slowed her down. She will be fitter next year. She showed she can bring the ball the up the court very well. I think she made the only 3 she attempted. I will never second guess Jen, but maybe a RS year for her? She also is a very good rebounder. I think we are good at the 4-5. Trpcic and Hall/Bessolo/Song?