Recruiting Analysis: Pac-12 and Big 12 lands top talent

Just over one month after the communication opened between Division I coaches and players from the class of 2024, there has been a slow trickle of announcements of early verbal commitments from that school. A fortunate few players were offered by their dream schools during the first month and became the early building blocks for the 2024 recruiting classes for the schools. Here’s a scouting report on five players who will be the key piece to the class of 2024 for their respective programs. F [player_tooltip player_id="18947" first="Onyeka" last="Gamero"], Beach FC, Stanford Gamero was the biggest splash during the first month of communication. The talented winger from Beach FC and the U.S. U17 Women’s National Team made an early verbal commitment to Stanford. She is not the first piece of the puzzle for the Cardinal though. [player_tooltip player_id="33286" first="Gisele" last="Thompson"] is also a verbal commitment to Stanford, as the two Thompson sisters both are headed to Palo Alto with [player_tooltip player_id="19052" first="Alyssa" last="Thompson"] joining the team in 2023. For Gamero and the younger Thompson, Stanford landed two of the top talents from Southern California in 2024 - and they also added a lot of speed to the wing. Gamero is a dynamic attacking player who has lightning-quick feet and loves to get to the end line. She is clever on the ball and very difficult to contain in 1v1 situations. The Stanford coaching staff will help elevate her game with improved decision-making in the final third. She will be a key piece to the team they are building to make some return trips to College Cup in the near future. [caption id="attachment_50127" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-12-at-9.15.18-AM-crop-485x319-1657642579.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-50127" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/07/Screen-Shot-2022-07-12-at-9.15.18-AM-crop-485x319-1657642579-300x197.png" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Photo: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfb8xO8p44s/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram ([player_tooltip player_id="18962" first="Tanner" last="Ijams"])</a>[/caption] GK [player_tooltip player_id="18962" first="Tanner" last="Ijams"], Beach FC, Washington Ijams, like her club teammate [player_tooltip player_id="18947" first="Onyeka" last="Gamero"], made a verbal commitment to her dream school within the first month of communication. While Gamero is the headlining the attack, Ijams is a star in the goal. It is easy to see why the Huskies were eager to get the top goalkeeper from California in the class of 2024 on board immediately. She is an excellent shot-stopper, and her technique is very good in setting her feet before attempting the save. She has the athleticism to cover the whole goal and has shown that at the highest levels in the club game. Her quick reactions also allow her to adjust to deflections well and pull off some remarkable saves from close-range efforts. She is landing at a school with a history of turning good goalkeeper prospects into great college goalkeepers. D [player_tooltip player_id="27386" first="Callie" last="Blaylock"], Utah Avalanche, Utah Blaylock is a do-everything type of player. She has youth national team qualities and was called into the regional talent identification center this year to see how she did training and playing against the best players in the region. She has the soccer intelligence to play a number of positions. She is listed as a forward on her high school roster and a defender on her club roster. She has lined up in a more attacking role for Utah Avalanche too, and found some success there. There is a lot of potential with this prospect from the 2024 class. Club teammate Hope Munson is one to watch for the future. Munson is a 2025 recruit. She has that next-level speed that suggests she can be an instant impact type of player. M [player_tooltip player_id="26661" first="Ella" last="Lewis"], Dallas Sting, Oklahoma [caption id="attachment_50125" align="alignright" width="225"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-50125" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/07/FWn0V4fVQAAru1K-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> Photo: <a href="https://x.com/aubrey2024?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter ([player_tooltip player_id="23708" first="Aubrey" last="Wagner"])</a>[/caption] Lewis is one of the first from Texas to make her verbal commitment from the class of 2024. She is a midfielder who is very good on the ball. She is clean with her first touch and can work out of pressure. Lewis’ best highlights of the season have been from set pieces. She has a great left foot and can bury a shot from 40 yards out into the upper corner of the goal. M/F [player_tooltip player_id="23708" first="Aubrey" last="Wagner"], Heat FC, Oklahoma St Wagner is an attacking midfielder at her heart, but she plays some forward too. She is a fun player to watch because she is fearless in her approach to taking players on with the ball at her feet. She will try to dribble through the entire opposite team, and she has the quick feet and skill to pull it off from time to time. She is not a one-trick player though - her game has some finesse to it, but she also is not afraid to bully defenders off the ball. She has a great shot and if defenders back off her, she will punish them. Oklahoma State landed an attacking talent that should make for an exciting cornerstone piece for the years to come.