Soccer Inks 10 In 2019 Class

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State soccer head coach Tony Minatta announced the addition of 10 prep standouts to the program's 2019 class on Friday. Minatta and his staff signed an outstanding class of future Cyclones, including four native Iowans.

Read a breakdown of all of Iowa State's 2019 signees, as well as Minatta's thoughts on each player, below:

Kennidy Belle
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
High School: The Summit Country Day School
Belle has had an outstanding prep career playing for Summit Country Day School and Cincinnati Developmental Academy. She was on a 2015 state championship team, and is a three-time all-league selection, including two years on the first team. In 2018, Belle was named All-Southwest Ohio and was a City Senior All-Star Game participant. She's recorded 11 goals (five game-winners) and racked up 19 assists during her high school career.

Tony's Take: "Kennidy Belle is a very gifted athlete, and she's got a ton of pace. She plays as an outside back in both club and with her high school team, however, she can play as a wide player and loves to attack forward. She's very dangerous in the attack, a very technical player and good with the ball at her feet. Kennidy can get service to the end line, but also gets back to defend so she's going to bring a lot to us at the wing position. Somebody that we're really excited about."

Mira Emma
Hometown: Wheaton, Illinois
High School: Wheaton Warrenville South
Mira Emma is a versatile and talented player with a history of club success with Chicago Sockers FC. She's garnered a U.S. Soccer Training Invite (2014) and was placed in the top 21 of Top Drawer Soccer's Regional Rankings in spring 2017. Emma's versatility is on display, as she is also a standout for the Wheaton Warrenville South basketball team. She is a four-year starter and has garnered All-DuPage Valley Conference honors and was named the SHS Thanksgiving Classic MVP.

Tony's Take: "Just a great soccer player and great soccer IQ. The things she sees on the field, things she's able to do with the ball and the vision that she shows is great. She's the type of player that really connects with the game and somebody that is going to be strong in our midfield and help us connect as a team going forward. Mira's really versatile, but she's the type of player that you build a team around because of her ability to connect everything."

Delaney Goodell
Hometown: Milton, Georgia
High School: Cambridge
Delaney Goodell is a two-time Class A All-Conference selection as a prep, and was also a regional all-star and named all-state in 2017. Goodell played high school soccer in Maine prior to a move to Milton, Georgia following her sophomore year. She also previously lived in Boone, Iowa for a time, attending Iowa State soccer games with family and grew up wanting to play for Iowa State. Also a stand-out runner, Goodell was an 800m school record-holder in high school and was a member of the 2018 state championship cross country team.

Tony's Take: "Delaney came to camp this summer. We hadn't seen her play, but at camp she just had a toughness about her. Never stopped competing. All three days she really put a lot into trying to get better. No matter who she was going up against in camp, she just kept working hard. She came in late in the process, but she's somebody that I think is going to add a lot of depth to our team on the back line, and potentially as a wide player in the midfield."

Lauren Holleran
Hometown: Centennial, Colorado
High School: Grandview
Iowa State found Lauren Holleran late in the recruiting process, and was fortunate to add her to the 2019 class. Holleran has had a tremendous high school career playing high-level soccer for Grandview High School and Colorado Rapids ECNL. She helped her prep squad to a 5A state title while being named to the all-state and all-conference teams. In 2018, her Grandview team was ranked No. 1 nationally by Top Drawer Soccer. In club soccer, Holleran was named to the ECNL Northwest All-Conference team.

Tony's Take: "Lauren is coming to us from Colorado. We saw her late in the recruiting process, and I can't tell you how excited we are that she wasn't recruited as heavily because she is going to bring a lot to our team. She can play anywhere on the back line or in the midfield. She plays for the state champions and was named honorable mention for Colorado high school soccer. Her club team is also one of the top ECNL teams in the league. She brings a ton of athleticism and maturity to the position."

Claudia Najera
Hometown: St. Charles, Illinois
High School: St. Charles North
Claudia Najera is a dynamic player that should provide help with the Cyclone offensive attack. Her St. Charles North squad was named among the top five programs in the country by USA Today, while her Campton United Soccer club team was four-time Illinois State Cup Champions. Najera has participated in U.S. soccer training for three years and played in the USYS National Champion finals in 2018. She's scored 62 goals and dished out 28 assists in three years of action.

Tony's Take: "Claudia Najera is a really talented attacking player. She plays as a wing and she's very gifted with the ball at her feet, creative with the dribble, but another versatile player that could play as an outside back, could play as a forward. She played for the national championship with U.S. youth soccer and really has a dynamic feel for the game. We're really looking forward to bringing her in to help with our attack."

Rachel Vander Hart
Hometown: Urbandale, Iowa
High School: Urbandale
Rachel Vander Hart signs with Iowa State out of Urbandale, Iowa, where she has had a tremendous prep career. She is a two-time First Team All-State selection by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association (2017, 2018), and was also named her team's Most Valuable Player each of the last three seasons. Playing club soccer for Sporting Iowa, Vander Hart has been on three Iowa State Cup championship teams, and one MRL 1^st Division Championship team (2017).

Tony's Take: "Rachel is an Iowa kid and plays for Sporting Iowa. As a goalkeeper, she's really tough and the type of player that can fly around in the goal, but will stand there and take the shot. As an individual, she had a lot of success at the high school and club levels. She's someone that we're really excited about because she can add depth to our goalkeeper position."

Abbey Van Wyngarden
Hometown: West Des Moines, Iowa
High School: Valley
Abbey Van Wyngarden has had an excellent prep career at Valley, despite missing the majority of her 2018 season due to injury. In 2017, Van Wyngarden was a First-Team All-State selection, and was also named to the Girls All-Tournament Team. She helped lead her team to the state finals as a sophomore. Playing for Sporting Iowa, Van Wyngarden helped lead her squad to three-straight State Cup Championships and to a Regional semifinal match in 2017. She's scored 25 goals, to go with 21 assists so far in her prep career.

Tony's Take: "The first time we saw Abbey was at the state cup, and (assistant coach) Jason Wichman said, 'We really have to look at this player from Sporting Iowa.' She's really tough and has fought through injury. She came to camp and we got a chance to see her play. She's really taken herself to another level. She scored some great goals at regionals and is just a really dynamic player that is going to add to our offensive attack this year. She's a natural left-footer with a ton of pace and she likes to score goals."

Olivia Wee
Hometown: Ankeny, Iowa
High School: Ankeny Centennial
Olivia Wee has a background full of success coming from Ankeny Centennial. She was named to the 2018 All-Tournament Team at the Iowa Girls State Soccer Tournament, and has twice garnered All-Conference honors. In 2017, she was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer High School All-American Watch List. Playing with the Iowa Rush, she was a four-time Iowa State Cup Champion. Academically, she is a two-time CIML Academic All-Conference selection.

Tony's Take: "Olivia is a great athlete, who played volleyball as well. On the back line, she could play center back and outside back as well. She's had a great high school career, both in high school and club soccer. We're really excited about what she's going to bring from a defensive standpoint. She also showed the ability to go forward out of the back and she really got involved with some free kicks and things like that. Great player, great attitude and great competitor."

Georgia Wimmer
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska
High School: Westside
Georgia Wimmer comes to Iowa State from Omaha, Nebraska, where she's enjoyed an outstanding prep career. She's helped Westside to back-to-back district championships, and has also excelled in club soccer with Elite Girls Academy 00/01 ECNL. She helped lead a Nebraska State Cup championship squad in June of 2018 and also earned Nebraska State Soccer Player of the Month honors in 2016. As a junior, Wimmer logged 70 saves and eight shutouts in 15 games played. She is also a member of the National Honor Society.

Tony's Take: "She's got some height and can fly around in the goal. Georgia does a very good job of cutting off spacing and angles for shooters. She plays at a high level in the ECNL and does a great job with her team. Her ECNL team is one of the top teams in the region and she's somebody that has anchored that for them. We're really excited about adding her to our goalkeeper depth."

Allie Wyckoff
Hometown: Ankeny, Iowa
High School: Ankeny Centennial
Allie Wyckoff is one of two Ankeny Centennial products to sign in the 2019 class. She helped lead the Jaguars to a 20-2 record in 2018 and a Class 3A state championship as an all-conference and West 3A All-District selection. She also helped Ankeny Centennial to the 2017 state semifinals. Wyckoff has also won three Iowa State Cup Championships (2016, 2017, 2018) as a member of the Iowa Rush.

Tony's Take: "Allie's another player out of Ankeny Centennial. She's an incredible athlete with a ton of pace. She plays with an edge and is a tough-minded player. She's improved every year that we've been watching her. She's just developed well. She can attack forward out of the back, she's really tough defensively and somebody that we think really can add to our back line, but also into our attack."

Iowa State University Athletics

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