MISSOULA — Signing day for NCAA Division I sports got underway on Wednesday around the country, with a number of sports at the University of Montana adding new faces. Below are the new additions for UM programs in men's and women's basketball, women's soccer, softball and volleyball, with info from Montana media releases included.
Men's basketball
The Griz men's basketball team got its season underway on Tuesday with a 91-63 loss to Duquesne, but on Wednesday they announced the addition of three new players who will join the team next season.
UM announced it had received letters of intent from incoming freshmen in guard Money Williams from Oakland, California, guard Chase Henderson of Des, Moines, Iowa, and forward Zack Davidson from Mission Viejo, California.
Women's basketball
The Lady Griz, who kicked off their 2022-23 campaign with a 65-63 loss to North Dakota State on Monday, signed three new players to the program on Wednesday.
Guard Macy Donarski of La Crosse, Wisconsin, guard Macey Huard from Highlands Ranch, Colorado and guard Adria Lincoln of Monroe, Washington all signed on Wednesday.
From UM athletics: Huard, at 6-foot-2, is the top-ranked player in Colorado in the class of 2023. Lincoln, 6-foot-1, is the top-ranked combo guard in Washington, the No. 5 overall player according to Prep Girls Hoops.
Donarski, a 5-foot-8 point guard and the No. 6-ranked player in Wisconsin, won a U16 club national championship with Wisconsin Flight Elite and in July the Nike EYBL Run 4 Roses title.
When Huard publicly committed in June, she tweeted that she couldn't resist the opportunity to play with her older sister Haley, a sophomore at Montana. They'll have two seasons to do so.
Huard was her conference MVP as a freshman at Bear Creek (Wash.) High, all-conference as a sophomore and junior at Valor Christian in Colorado. This past summer she was named second-team 17U Adidas 3SSB All-Circuit.
Donarski's older sister, Lexi, is a junior at Iowa State. She was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2021-22, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2021-22.
An all-state setter for the Aquinas volleyball team and a state qualifier in the relays on the track, Donarski was all-state as a sophomore and junior on the basketball court playing for her dad.
Lincoln first caught Holsinger's attention years ago, when he was still at Oregon State.
That will happen when you're one of only 34 players selected to participate in the USA Basketball U16 national trials, which Lincoln did in 2021. She would end up with more than 20 Division I offers.
Lincoln was her team MVP and first-team all-conference as a freshman, sophomore and junior, and is coming off a season when she averaged a double-double.
Huard and Donarski committed to the Lady Griz in the spring. Lincoln was an August commit.
Women's soccer
The Griz soccer team fell in the semifinal round of this year's Big Sky Conference tournament and finished 7-7-6 this year. They added six new players to the program on Wednesday.
The Griz added goalkeeper Bayliss Flynn of Edina, Minnesota, outside back Lucie Rokos or Portland, Oregon, center back Riley Carolan of Seattle, Washington, Abby Smith of Corvallis, Oregon, Taija Anderson of Bluffdale, Utah and midfielder Perrin Pennington or Athens, Georgia.
From UM athletics: Flynn recently was selected to compete next month in the High School All-American Game in Panama City, Fla. She is just one of four goalkeepers on the East and West rosters. The others are committed to Ohio State, Boston College and Kansas.
Rokos plays for one of the top high school programs in the country and club for the Portland Thorns. She is a 5-foot-4 outside back, the same size as another recent Grizzly who took her skillset to the NWSL.
Carolan is a 6-foot center back who joins a program that has a successful history of fielding dominating, imposing defenders at that position.
She gives a sizeable bookend to 5-foot-10 forward Delaney Lou Schorr, who led the Big Sky in goals during the regular season. All seven of her goals came off her head.
Pennington will give Montana its first player from Georgia, but it was her family's brief stay in Seattle that led to her becoming a Grizzly.
She played for OL Reign Academy when she lived in Seattle. In Georgia, she plays for Tophat Soccer Club.
Despite Montana's relative proximity to Utah, the Grizzlies have had just two players from the state in the history of the program: Raquel Watts and McKenzie Warren, who was a senior on Citowicki's first team, in 2018.
Anderson, who plays for Real Salt Lake Academy, makes it a third.
Smith is a high-scoring forward out of Crescent Valley High. She scored a hat trick on senior night last month and her team's lone goal on Tuesday as the Raiders advanced to the Class 5A title game with a 1-0 victory over North Eugene.
Volleyball
UM volleyball is currently 15-10 overall and 8-5 in league play as they wind down the season. They added two players on Wednesday in Gracie Cagle of Frisco, Texas, and Olivia Liermann of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
From UM athletics: Cagle excelled as a setter for Reedy High School. A major strength for her, and something that caught the eye of the Grizzly coaching staff, is the versatility she brings to the floor.
She has played nearly every position on the court, bringing a skill set that is very well rounded to fit wherever it is needed. It also makes her understand the rest of her teammates duties on the floor. She was named to the AVCA Phenom Watch List, as well as the AVCA's Best and Brightest in 2022.
Cagle also is a three-year letter winner and has helped lead her team to multiple 9-5A District Championships while being given honorable mention honors. The honors extend into the classroom, where Cagle twice earned Academic All-District.
She comes from a volleyball family, as her father David played the sport collegiately at Ambassador University. Montana provided a chance for her to continue her career as well as a perfect place for her academics as she plans to study wildlife biology.
Liermann played for the Lake City HS Timberwolves as a member of Idaho's highest largest class at 5A. A left handed opposite hitter, Liermann also played club volleyball for the CPA Elite team in Spokane.
She has started for her high school since her sophomore season and has also been successful in track and field as a discus thrower. She has an impressive resume off the court as well with a nearly 4.0 GPA and a charitable personality. During the pandemic she volunteered with Meals on Wheels, her local food bank and the Kootenai Humane Society
Cagle will become the third player from Texas on the Montana roster, joining Jackie Howell and Maddie Pyles. Liermann is the second player from Idaho along with Paige Clark on the 2023 roster.
Softball
The UM softball team will get their season underway in the spring after going 8-0 in their fall exhibition season. On Wednesday, they added four new players to the program.
The Grizzlies added pitcher Nyeala Herndon of Helena, pitcher Rylee Rehbein of Battle Ground, Washington, catcher Madison Tarrant of Goodyear, Arizona, and infielder Riley Peschek of Fox Island, Washington.
All four will graduate in the spring and join the Grizzlies as freshmen next fall.
From UM athletics: Montana currently has five pitchers on its roster for the upcoming spring season. One is a senior.
Herndon, who won 15 games last season and had a 2.12 ERA while striking out 151 batters over 109 innings, played in Montana until joining the Washington Ladyhawks travel-ball team.
Rehbein, who played for the Northwest Bullets before joining the Washington Ladyhawks, led Battle Ground High to a third-place finish at the Washington Class 4A state tournament in May.
Tarrant was an all-region selection as a senior. She and her teammates at Canyon View finished runner-up at the Arizona Class 5A state tournament. She plays for the Arizona Storm.
Montana has a pair of catchers on its current team, junior Riley Stockton and sophomore Kynzie Mohl.
Peschek, who plays for the Northwest Bullets, is a two-time All-South Puget Sound League selection at Gig Harbor High.
