HOUSTON – The HCU women's basketball team signed guard Tove Caesar from Stockholm, Sweden, head coach Donna Finnie announced Thursday afternoon. Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), underwent a name change in September 2022.
 
The Swedish native plays basketball for her high school, Lulea Gymnasieskola BC and head coach Mikael Johansson, where she plans to graduate from in June. In her senior season she has averaged 11.4 points in 20 minutes played per game. Her high school team was the top ranked high school team in Sweden.
 
Coach Johansson thinks Tove will fit in seamlessly into the program the coaching staff has built at Houston Christian.
 
"Tove is a very positive girl that is easy to have on any team. She always cares about everyone, is team oriented, and always puts others ahead of herself," he said. "On the court, she has good shooting range and is a great catch-and-shoot player. She loves to post up when she has the advantage over her defender. I am glad the Huskies will have her in their program and I am glad Tove is will get to play for their coaching staff and the school."
 
Before high school, Caesar played for Spanga BC and head coach Andreas Andersson. During her time on Spanga her team won a Nordic Championship and a Swedish Championship. Caesar was named the league MVP twice and was named to the all-star team both seasons.
 
Caesar was born to parents Anders Bengtsson and Annica Caesar. She has two siblings, brother Oscar (30) and twin sister Tilde.
 
Tove chose HCU because of the instant connections she made with the coaching staff and team.
 
"HCU was perfect both on and off the court for me. They had everything I was looking for and more," Caesar said. "The coaches and the team made my decision very easy. They were so welcoming and made me feel like I was a part of the Husky family during my recruiting process."
 
Coach Finnie could not be happier to welcome Caesar to the squad.
 
"I am so thrilled that Tove has chosen to join our program. It was clear during the recruiting process how intentional she was in finding the right fit for her. And we felt from the beginning she would be a great fit for us both on and off the court," Finnie said. "She has a very positive attitude about everything and is very mature. On court her offensive skill set will fit seamlessly into our offense and she is very versatile on defense and plays with a very high IQ. Tove will be a great addition to our program and we welcome out first Swedish player to the HCU family."
 
Caesar joins Riley Wells and Hannah Fields as a part of the 2023-24 signing class