Tylee Black (Photo by Noah Clooten)
Colden Hutton is bringing a larger recruiting class to his second year as the Lake Region State College women’s basketball head coach.
Last year’s squad had just nine players. And for most of the season, only six or seven of them were healthy. This year, the recruiting class alone features eight players. That brings the roster total to 11 with the new school year approaching.
The class is headlined by Zoie Austin. She scored more than 1,000 points in her high school career for Bismarck Century. She helped her team reach the AA state championship game this past season. Her performance earned her a spot in the Lions All-Star series, where she had a 23-point performance in a win over the A/B team.
LRSC also brings in a pair of locals. Devils Lake alum Torri Fee, who initially signed with LRSC for volleyball, will be playing basketball as well. She was an important part of the 2023-24 Class A championship team, and she helped the Firebirds back to the state tournament last season. Fee played for the A/B team in the recent Lions All-Star series.
Former Firebird Tylee Black also joins the Royals. She was on the state championship team and graduated in 2024, but this is her first collegiate basketball stop.
Ayiana Gray, a point guard from New Town, N.D., is another in-state addition for LRSC.
The Royals add one player from neighboring Minnesota: Brooke Welle from Melrose, Minn. Welle will be the tallest player on the team, listed at 6-foot-0.
The recruiting class features three international players. Two of them are from New Zealand, with Kiritiana Patea and Caitlin Hull. Patea is from the city of Tauranga, while Hull is from Hamilton.
Danielle McNamara, from Falkirk, Scotland, also joins the team as a transfer. She spent her freshman year with Central Methodist University in Fayette, Mo., but she only appeared in four games and redshirted.
The three returning players on the roster are Sydney Schwabe, Jenna Tierney and Lara Graham. Schwabe led the team in points last year.
Despite a small group, the Royals had a solid season in the first year under Hutton. They went 7-7 in conference play and played neck-and-neck with North Dakota State College of Science in the Region XIII semifinals. They were 15-17 overall.
The first scrimmage for this squad is the Iowa JUCO Jam scheduled for Oct. 4. The season begins with the Mon-Dak Preseason Tournament from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.
