UCLA Adds an Aussie

UCLA Adds an Aussie
Photo Credit to Julie Marinovic of Fox Sports Australia


Last night, when Chantel Horvat of Melbourne, Australia made a verbal pledge to UCLA coach Cori Close and her staff, the PAC-12 school landed one of the top international prospects in the 2017 class.  Horvat, who picked UCLA over many suitors including, Duke, North Carolina, LSU, Stanford, Florida, and Washington, is a 6-foot forward who has represented Australia at U18 and U19 events. 

A big deal was made this summer when Connecticut made an effort to recruit Australian wing Chantel Horvat. The way the story is told, after impressing Australian Legend Penny Taylor at an Aussie Opal training camp, Taylor reached out to Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma and his staff about the class of 2017 international.  While ultimately Connecticut wasn’t the final destination for Horvat, it does show the caliber of reputation she has earned as a prep player. As a high school aged prospect, being a member of any country’s national team pipeline is a significant honor, when you factor in the historic international success that Australia has had, Horvat’s resume begins to speak for its self.  

For UCLA, Horvat gives them a high-level athlete with an emerging skill set. When Horvat was younger, she spent a lot of her playing time at the forward spot and in the last 18 months she has worked to develop her perimeter skills.  In April of 2015, our most recent live evaluation of Horvat, she showed a lot of comfort playing in transition and using her athleticism. Horvat has a workman mentality around the rim and will work for extra possessions and rebounds. One area where she needed to show more comfort was her ability to catch and make moves from the perimeter. With her size and athleticism, it is in her capabilities to be effective from the perimeter and during her time at UCLA look for her to develop that ability. 

Joining Horvat in UCLA’s 2017 class will be current verbal commits Lauren Miller of Kirkwood, Mo., and Kayla Owens of Houston, Texas.  With Horvat joining these two, UCLA has put together a group of three four-star caliber prospects that should have them in the mix for one of the top 25 programs in the country.   

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