The third-ranked recruiting class takes a hit
More from Big Ten Conference
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, October 15: Brian Agler out the door in Dallas
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, July 29: WNBA Ratings Spike 20%
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, July 20: Mystics’ Tina Charles to miss season
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, July 15: It’s Breanna Stewart time
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, July 2: Maya Moore helps overturn wrongful conviction
Maryland freshman guard Zoe Young — the #32 overall prospect and eighth-ranked guard in her class — will miss the entire 2019-20 season with a torn ACL. According to the Baltimore Sun, the injury occurred during a non-contact drill earlier in October.
Young, a 5’10 shooting guard, averaged 24.3 points per game during her senior season at West Des Moines Valley High School and was named the USA Today Iowa Player of the Year. Though she was expected to instantly contribute as a true freshman at Maryland, she can redshirt this season and retain her four years of NCAA eligibility going forward.
“Unfortunately, as some of you may or may not have heard, Zoe Young injured her knee probably about ten days ago in practice, torn ACL,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese told reporters Thursday. “She’ll have surgery on Oct. 28, definitely disappointing but allows her to use this redshirt year and come back even stronger. I’ve been so impressed with her mindset coming out of this and her preparation to move forward.”
Young is one of four Terrapin recruits ranked in the top 100 of their class, per ESPN’s HoopGurlz. In addition to welcoming the cohort of accomplished freshmen, paced by Diamond Miller, a versatile wing out of New Jersey, Maryland returns its three leading scorers from a season ago, highlighted by AP All-American and two-time All-Big Ten First Team honoree Kaila Charles. After winning 29 games and the Big Ten regular season title in 2018-19, the Terps are poised to take the next step this year.
According to an NCAA.com ranking, Maryland is ranked fifth in the country preseason.
Love our 24/7 women’s basketball coverage? Join our Patreon now and support this work, while getting extra goodies and subscriber-only content for yourself.