Nov. 12, 2008

Pocatello, ID--With just an exhibition victory under his belt the 12th head women's basketball coach at Idaho State University, Seton Sobolewski, has already received four National Letters of Intent (NLI) for the 2009-2010 season. The four players who signed include Ashleigh Vella, Morgan Wohltman, Shannon Byrne, and Kaela Oakes. The incoming freshmen players hail from Washington, Arizona and Australia and will certainly add shot-makers and size to the roster.

The farthest recruit from Idaho State is Ashleigh Vella (Ash-lee Vil-a) who hails from Upwey, Australia, near Melbourne. The 6-1 forward lettered in basketball and netball (a non-contact women's sport similar to basketball that does not involve dribbling and has no backboard to the net). Vella has gained experience from her high school team as well as various other sports teams including being a member of the School Sports Australia team for two years.

"We are very excited to have Ash a part of our program. She is athletic, physical and a good defender," said Sobolewski. "She has the potential to contribute right away."

At Upwey High School, Vella was a school state athletics representative in 2003 and earned the most determined and most consistent award from her team in 2004. In 2006 she was given the Kristi Harrower MVP award. Vella has numerous team honors, with her most successful being a U/14's national junior classics champion in 2003. She has also been a member of the U/15 state netball team and from 2006-08 Vella was a VSSSA school girl's state team representative. Vella continued to compete, but on the state level as she was a Victorian State team member in 2008. An excellent athlete, Vella also performed well in the classroom earning academic achievement awards from 2003-05 and 2007-08.

Morgan Wohltman comes from one of the most successful girls basketball programs in Arizona

Morgan Wohltman, a 5-11 guard from Gilbert, Arizona has been a starter at Highland High School for three years. She also lettered in volleyball her first two years. She is one of the top players in Arizona and was voted 5A Player of the Year. She developed under the direction of Miner Webster who has produced five state titles at Highland and seven over his career.

"Morgan comes from one of the most successful girls' basketball programs in Arizona," said Sobolewski. "She will bring scoring and size on the perimeter for us. We are excited to have someone of Morgan's caliber join our program."

Wohltman garnered numerous athletic honors including being named First-Team All-State, First-Team All-Region and was selected to the All-Arizona team, and was named player of the week by the Arizona Tribune her junior year.

Wohltman averaged a team-best 14.1 points per game as a junior to lead Highland to the 2008 Arizona Class 5A State Championship and a 25-3 record. Due to her outstanding play she was named to the all-tournament team in the Las Vegas Holiday Tournament and was named offensive player of the year during her junior run.

Shannon Byrne (Burn), a 6-3 forward from Puyallup, Washington, will join the Bengal squad from Emerald Ridge High School. Byrne was a three-sport athlete lettering in basketball and track and field for three years as well as soccer for a year.

"Shannon is a tall forward who runs the floor extremely well who can score in the post as well as on the perimeter," said Sobolewski. "For a 6-3 player she is very agile. We are excited about her becoming a Bengal."

Shannon Byrne is a 6-3 forward from Puyallup, Wash.

Byrne was named to the All-League South Puget Sound (SPSL) Second Team in 2006-07 and the All-League South Puget Sound First-Team in 2007-08. She was also honored by being named athlete of the month by the Tacoma Athletic Commission on May 20, 2008. She is the second highest score in the SPSL with 16.9 points per game during the 2007-08 season. In addition to her accolades, Byrne earned MVP at the Auburn Riverside Tournament of Champions in April of 2008 by Shock Girls Basketball an AAU team.

Kaela Oakes of Chandler, Arizona will join the Bengals from Basha High School. The multi-sport athlete has lettered in basketball and track and field for three years and is considered one of the top sprinters in Arizona. Not only is she excellent on the track, but the 5-5 guard can lead on the court helping her team to two state quarterfinals in 2006 and 2007. She was named Honorable Mention All-State by the Arizona Republic and East Valley Tribune.

"Kaela is a very athletic point guard, who is a good pull-up shooter, strong ball handler, an exceptional defender, and a leader," said Sobolewski. "We will be very excited to have Kaela a part of our program next year."

Kaela Oakes was named Honorable Mention All-State by the Arizona Republic and East Valley Tribune.

Oakes gained valuable experience at the club level compiling over 600 victories and numerous AAU and BCI State Championships over the last eight seasons. She was also named First-Team All-Region, defensive player All-Region, and was named to the All-Academic team.

Competing in numerous tournaments, she was also named to the End of the Oregon Trail All-Tournament team and the River City Classic National Division All-Tournament team. As a track athlete she was named MVP in 2006 and 2008. Not only a solid athlete but an excellent student, Oakes has been on the honor roll for four years and posts a 4.4 cumulative GPA. She was a member of the National Honor Society for two years.

"All four of these young ladies epitomize the quality of people we want in our program," said Sobolewski. "They are good people; good students and they come from great families. So we are very lucky to have them."

Head coach Sobolewski now looks to open the 2008-09 season against DePaul in the Basketball Travelers Tip-Off Tournament hosted by New Mexico at the Pit. Tip-off begins at 5:00 p.m.