SB: HCU completes recruiting class with six more additions

7/31/2024 12:00:00 PM

Five transfers, one more frosh join early quintet of signees

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HOUSTON --- Houston Christian University Head Coach Mary-Ellen Hall has announced the addition of six signees to complete its recruiting class for the 2025 season. Transfers Karlie Barba, Jaycee Foor, Chloe Foster, Christin Haygood and Ella Herrewig along with Jocelyn Briseno will join the early signing quintet from December to give HCU 11 total newcomers for the 2025 season. After losing 11 seniors from last year's squad, the incoming group represents the largest single signing class in Hall's tenure with the Huskies.

KARLIE BARBA transfers to HCU after a stellar two-year stint at Galveston College. She earned All-Conference and All-Region honors after both her freshman and sophomore campaigns, splitting time as a designated player and pitcher. This past season, her second on the island, saw her garner NFCA and NJCAA All-America accolades, as she ranked fourth in the country with 27 homers while driving in 80 runs to help GC to a No. 17 national ranking and a fifth-place finish at the national tournament. In two seasons, she hit 38 dingers and had 134 RBI while also going 24-7 in the circle. Barba is a Houston native who was a four-year letter-winner at Dobie High School.

SB - Foor / IowaWestern

JAYCEE FOOR comes to the Huskies after spending single seasons at both Northern Oklahoma College-Enid and Iowa Western College. A catcher from Tulsa, Oklahoma and Union High School, Foor was an All-Region performer as a freshman at NOC, batting .354 with four homers and 33 RBI for the Jets. She then matriculated to IWC for her sophomore campaign where she batted .286 to help the Reivers advance to the NJCAA National Tournament.

CHLOE FOSTER is another Houston native transferring after two solid seasons in the junior college ranks. The Alvin High School product spent the last two seasons in the outfield at San Jacinto College, where she was an All-Conference selection twice. After hitting .375 as a freshman, Foster batted .311 with six homers and 51 RBI as a sophomore to help the Ravens to a No. 22 national ranking and a trip to the NJCAA National Tournament. Foster, along with fellow signee Christin Haygood, will make it seven SJC players to join the Huskies in the last three seasons.

CHRISTIN HAYGOOD transfers to HCU for her final collegiate season. The right-handed hurler spent her junior campaign at UT-Tyler, where she helped lead the Patriots to the NCAA Division II national title. Haygood went 23-1 overall with a 1.43 ERA and five saves on the season, and went 5-0 in the national tournament to earn MVP honors. She was named the Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year in addition to All-SLC first-team honors. She spent her first two seasons with San Jac, playing with former Huskies Tabitha Burnett, Maggie Childs, Juls Garcia and Ronni Grofman as a freshman and then with fellow signee Chloe Foster as a sophomore. She was twice selected All-Conference and All-Region, combining for a 37-7 overall record with the Ravens. Haygood hails from Huffman and Hargrave High School, where she teamed with former HCU right-hander Katy Janes in leading the Falcons to the 2019 4A State title.

ELLA HERREWIG joins the Huskies after spending her redshirt freshman campaign at Galveston College as a teammate of fellow signee Karlie Barba. Herrewig was an All-Conference and All-Region selection as a shortstop, hitting .407 with 22 homers as the Whitecaps advanced to a fifth-place finish at the NJCAA National Tournament. Her 87 RBI on the season were seventh in the nation, helping her earn NFCA All-America honors. A native of Langley, British Columbia, Canada, Herrewig sat out her first season at Brigham Young University. She led British Columbia to gold medals at both the 2022 and 2023 Canada Summer Games and also helped the Canadian Junior National Women's National Team to a third-place finish at the 2019 Pan American Championships.

JOCELYN BRISENO is the lone freshmen in the second batch of signees and sixth overall in the full 11-player class. The outfielder from Alvin High School also becomes the second Yellowjacket in the class, joining transfer Chloe Foster. The four-year letter-winner and two-time All-District selection batted over .400 in three of her four high school seasons including a .420 average to earn TSWA 6A third-team All-State honors as a senior.

HALL ON THE CLASS:

"We are extremely excited about this group of signees. After hitting the high schools and select ball for that early signing group, it was important for us to go and find ladies with a good deal of collegiate experience in that second group. We feel like we were able to add some quality bats, solid defense and a big arm in the circle to what we already thought was a tremendously good group of early signees. It's a really good mix for what is the largest incoming class we've had in my time here, replacing the largest senior class we ever had. We are really looking forward to getting to work."

Hall returns for her 34th season at the helm of her alma mater after claiming her 900th career victory last season. The Huskies lost 11 seniors off last year's team that finished 23-27 with a fourth straight appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament. The Huskies do return nine players from last year's club including three-time All-Southland Conference third baseman Haylie Savage, 2023 SLC Freshman of the Year AB Garcia and senior outfielder Maddy Bailey.

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Five transfers, one more frosh join early quintet of signees

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