Wyoming athletics build for the future
Nov. 11—The University of Wyoming athletics department has announced the past couple of days many additions as student-athletes signed their national letters of intent on Wednesday as the fall period began.
Cowboys basketball
UW men's basketball coach Jeff Linder announced the signing of guard Makaih Williams for the 2023-24 season. A native of Long Beach, California, he becomes the first member of the 2022-23 signing class.
The 6-1, 185-pound guard currently plays at Southern California Academy in Northridge, California. He was rated as a three-star recruit by 247 Sports. Williams was rated as the 38th best point guard in the signing class and 39th ranked recruit in the state of California.
He played his senior season at Capistrano Valley Christian, averaging 18.6 points per game to go along with 6.1 rebounds along with 4.9 assists and 3.3 steals. He scored 34 points in a contest against Pacifica Christian.
Williams was a CIF Open Division second team selection. He earned first team All-League as a senior and earned second team honors as a junior and sophomore.
He also received recruiting interest from San Francisco, Utah State, Ole Miss.
Cowgirls basketball
UW women's basketball coach Heather Ezell added three signees to her first recruiting class as head coach.
Mikyn Hamlin, Maren McKenna and Madison Symons all signed their national letters of intent Wednesday, the team said in a press release.
Hamlin, a 5-foot-8 guard out of Hugoton, Kansas, is a three-time first team All-GWAC honoree, a three-time league MVP and has been a state player of the year finalist multiple times.
McKenna, a 5-foot-9 guard out of Green Canyon High in Hyde Park, Utah, was named Green Canyon female athlete of the year in both her sophomore and junior years. She was also named to the All-Tournament team at the Utah state tournament.
Symons, a 6-foot forward out of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, helped her high school to two district titles and three league championships. She also is a three-time All-State player in Idaho, and currently holds the record at her school for most points and rebounds in a single season.
Volleyball
UW volleyball coach Chad Callihan brought in five student-athletes who will be joining the Cowgirls next fall.
Peyton Carruth, a 5-foot-9 defensive specialist/libero, comes from Casper, and has been a highly-decorated student-athlete throughout her prep career at Kelly Walsh High. She was a three-time All-Conference honoree and two-time All-State selection. She led her team to multiple state tournaments and was the only freshman starter at the 2019 state tournament.
Sierra Grizzle, a 5-foot-4 defensive specialist/libero is from Boise, Idaho. She was a multiple letterwinner at Mountain View High. She is a two-time All-Conference honoree and was an All-State selection last season. She also holds the school record for most single-game kills with 30.
Paige Lauterwasser, a 6-foot outside hitter, comes to Laramie from Naperville, Illinois. She is a a two-time team captain at Napierville North High, and a two-time MVP. She was the 2022 conference player of the year and has been a three-time All-Conference selection. She led her team to a pair of conference titles and a regional championship during her career. She also became the fourth student-athlete in program history to reach 1,000 career kills.
Abi Millby, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, also comes from Casper. Millby, who was high school teammates with Petyon Carruth at Kelly Walsh, was a team captain in 2022. She is a two-time All-Conference and All-State selection and helped lead her team to a pair of runner-up finishes at the Wyoming state tournament and was a USA Nationals All-Tournament team honoree in 2022. She is also highly-decorated in track and field.
Evelyn Udezue, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker now calls Laramie her home. She played her prep career at Brighton High in Colorado, was a first team All-State and All-Conference honoree, and was the East Metro Athletic Conference player of the year last season. Udezue, whose father, Ugo played basketball at Wyoming, led Brighton to a pair of conference championships.
Soccer
UW soccer coach Colleen Corbin signed eight to add to her Cowgirls squad.
Kiley Ballek from Fort Collins, Colorado, is a midfielder from just south on U.S. Highway 287 and played at Fossil Ridge High and club ball for Real Colorado ECNL.
Haley Bartel from Gilbert, Arizona, is a goalkeeper and one of two players in the 2023 class from the state of Arizona. She played at Highland High and club ball for AZ Arsenal ECNL.
Ally Boysen from Cody is a forward hailing from the Equality State. She played at Cody High and club ball for Gillette Edge.
Khari Carreno from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is a defender from the Tulsa area. She played at Union High and club ball for Tulsa SC.
Eve Laycock from North Salt Lake, Utah, is a defender who played for Woods Cross High and club ball for La Roca ECNL.
Raegan Richardson from Queen Creek, Arizona, is a midfielder from the Phoenix area. She played at Queen Creek High and club ball for AZ Arsenal ECNL.
Rylee Schroder from Lebanon, Ohio, is a defender from the Cincinnati area. She played at Lebanon High and club ball for CUP GA.
Amayah Singleton from Wake Forest, North Carolina, is a defender from the Raleigh area. She played at Heritage High and club ball for Wake FC GA.
Cowboys golf
UW director of golf and men's coach Joe Jensen added Evan Johnson of Richland, Washington, and Noah Wagner of Pueblo West, Colorado to National Letters of Intent (NLIs) with the Cowboy Golf team.
Johnson played at Richland High, where he earned first team Mid-Columbia Conference All-Conference honors all four years of high school.
In the spring of 2022, Johnson was named the MCC player of the year. He finished 13th at the 2022 Washington Class 4A State Championship in May, and as a team captain led his team to a sixth-place team finish. During the summer of 2022, Johnson tied for seventh at the Washington Junior Golf Association District 4 Championship and tied for ninth at the WJGA State Championship.
Wagner comes to Wyoming from Pueblo West High in Colorado. He was a four-time Class 4A All-State selection and won the South-Central League championship three times. He led his team to a fourth-place finish in the 4A State Golf Tournament in October, and he placed eighth individually — only three strokes back of the state champion. In July of 2022, he played in the U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes, Oregon.
Cowgirls golf
UW women's golf coach Josey Stender brought in Samantha Spielman for the Cowgirls.
Spielman plays at Sheridan High, highlighted by winning the Class 4A individual state titles in 2020 and 2022 and finished third in 2021. She also helped lead Sheridan to a team title in 2021 and is a four-time All-State honoree. Following her 2022 state title win, she was named the Lew Lepore Wyoming High School player of the Year.
