Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Soccer Welcomes 2016 Signing Day Class
February 03, 2016 | Women's Soccer
Texas Tech welcomes seven on National Signing Day.
Feb. 3, 2016
Lubbock, Texas -- Texas Tech head soccer coach Tom Stone and his staff announced the singing of one of the most highly touted classes on Wednesday afternoon.Four of the seven student athletes in this year's class are products of prestigious Texas Club soccer programs while two signees come to Tech from programs outside of the State of Texas. The final signee of the 2016 class will travel to Texas Tech from Sydney Australia.
| Name | Position | Club/High School |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan Harr | Midfield | Dallas Sting Soccer Club/Sachse High School |
| Jade King | Forward | Elite Girls Academy of Omaha/Eagan High School |
| Demi Koulizakis | Forward | Western Sydney Wanderers/Endeavor Sport High School |
| Tatum Barton | Forward | Real Colorado/Columbine High School |
| Caroline Paulette | Defender | Sting '98/Hebron High School |
| Savanna Jones | Midfield | Dallas Sting '98/Highland Park High School |
| Sarah Norman | Defender | Dallas Sting/McKinney Boyd High School |
"Jordie Harr is a really rare and unique talent," said Stone. "She is the quintessential playmaker. She is extraordinarily fast with and without the ball. Jordie is the perfect attacking mid or holding mid in our system. We plan on building our midfield around her. She is that special of a player. Jordan has been within the US National Team program for a few years now, she clearly has aspirations to be an international player and a pro player. She is very driven to play at that next level so our job is to help her get there."
Jade King, a standout forward for Elite Girls Academy of Omaha and MTA out of Minneapolis, officially joined the Red Raider soccer program in late January. She has participated in two U.S Youth National Team camps at the U-16 and U-17 levels while excelling as a two sport athlete at Eagan High School. The Apple Valley, Minn., native led her team to back-to-back Minnesota State Championships in 2014 and 2015. King scored 28 goals in her final high school season with the Wildcats en route to her second team MVP award.
"We are excited about her explosiveness," added Stone. "Jade is a dynamic and explosively fast forward with a huge drive to get to the goal. I think what we saw from her as a youth player is that she is crafty and creative on the dribble and can really shoot the ball. She is a young player who is looking to make her mark in college and I think the transition for her will be pretty quick."
Demi Koulizakis sent her NLI into Lubbock from clear on the other side of the globe early Wednesday morning. The Crafty forward from Sydney Australia has represented her home country of Australia at the youth national team level while also playing club soccer with FNSW Institute in the national Premier League in Australia before joining the Western Sydney Wanderers.
"We are excited for the depth of experience she will bring to our locker room and our team," said Stone. "Demi is a dynamic dribbler and passer and obviously can score. She has played most of her career as an attacker. We are excited to bring Demi out here and we can't wait to see what sort of player we can help her become. I think she has aspirations well beyond college and we are excited to help her achieve those goals. Her time in the international arena will help her transition to college soccer."
2014 Colorado Player of the Year Tatum Barton also signed a national letter of intent to play her college soccer with Texas Tech Wednesday morning. Barton, a Forward out of national renowned Real Colorado Soccer Club and Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., was a four time ECNL national finalist. Barton was also a club mate of National Team members, and former Red Raiders, Janine Beckie and Jaelene Hinkle. She has scored 44 career goals including a season high 28 goals during the 2014 season when she was crowned Colorado Player of the year following her team's state championship."We have not seen a player like Tatum since Dawn Ward," said Stone. "She is a strong, powerful, in your face forward with a knack for scoring goals. Not only can she score, but she is a lot to handle for a defender. She will bring us a physical presence up front that we have not had for a long time."
Joining an already stout defensive backline is Lewisville, Texas, native Caroline Paulette. Paullette is a Four year letter winner out of Sting '98 and Hebron High School. She helped her high school team claim the 2013-14 Texas 5-A State Championship after recording her best statistical season in 2012-13 when she connected on 22 goals and 18 assists. Paulette arned all-district honors in 2012-13 and 2013-14 while also being named offensive player of the year following the 2012-13 season. Paulette will become the second player under Tom Stone to arrive at Texas Tech from Hebron High School, following Conner Whitfield (2013).
"To play defense in college you have to be athletic, which Caroline is," said Stone. "We ask a lot of our defenders in terms of distribution and her ball striking is excellent. She is a fierce competitor and a great fit for us. She has a sense in the backline of where the ball should go when her team is building. That is important on our team as our defenders have the ball quite a bit."
Savanna Jones, a skilled midfielder from Dallas Sting '98 and Highland Park high school, will continue her family's legacy at Tech as both of her parents are Tech graduates. Jones' high school team reached the state finals in 2013 and 2015 while participating in the regional finals in 2014. Jones was named MVP of state semifinal game in 2013 before earning first team all-district honors in 2014.
"Savanna is very quick and really light on her feet as she handles the ball," added Stone. "She has a tie to Texas Tech in that her family went here. We are super excited to see her play in our box midfield. Every summer as Savanna comes to our summer camp we have been impressed with her ability to receive and play the ball quickly. Savanna's quickness and technical proficiency will serve her well in the college game."The final player in the 2016 signing day class was Sarah Norman, a talented defender out of Dallas Sting Soccer Club and McKinney Boyd High School. Norman was tabbed as a Dallas Morning News Player to Watch in 2016 as well as a Region III Outstanding Defensive Regional Player in 2015.
"Sarah is one of the most technical players we have recruited in the past couple of year," Stone added. "Sarah's skill level is off the charts. She is really composed and we need that from our center backs and our holding mids. Sarah is never rushed, never rattled and we love that about her game."
