My guess is Mata was the last player we were seriously looking to add, so we may truly be done now. But I have no inside information on that.
***WBB: 2026 Recruiting Thread***
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Can't read article but for you in-state peeps with subscriptions you can tell us how late in 2026 she is planning to arrive.
"Fennelly said the young forward may not get to campus until the start of the school year."
He noted that he considers playing for the national team important and he always thinks that should be the focus of players who are doing that.
It seems like her timeline depends on what exactly her team qualifies for.
FIBA EuroBasket U20 tournament is July 4-12. She played for Slovenia U20 last year and is still under 20, so I'm assuming she's doing that. I'm not sure what she'd be doing after that.
She plays for both the U20 and senior national teams. It looks like she's always been good enough to double up: she played U16 and U18 at the same time, then U18 and U20, and now U20 and senior.
She averaged 8 and 5 (with 25 mpg) as a starter for the senior team back in March at the European Championship Qualifier first round. She was averaging 9 and 6 over 29 mpg for the first 5 games, but only played 8 minutes in the final game of the round as that was the only game famous Slovenian Jess Shepard was available to play (Jess scored 22 in 34 minutes).
The second round isn't until November, so she won't be participating in that.
She plays for both the U20 and senior national teams. It looks like she's always been good enough to double up: she played U16 and U18 at the same time, then U18 and U20, and now U20 and senior.
She averaged 8 and 5 (with 25 mpg) as a starter for the senior team back in March at the European Championship Qualifier first round. She was averaging 9 and 6 over 29 mpg for the first 5 games, but only played 8 minutes in the final game of the round as that was the only game famous Slovenian Jess Shepard was available to play (Jess scored 22 in 34 minutes).
The second round isn't until November, so she won't be participating in that.
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Not like we have not had that before with Carleton playing on various Canadian teams.
I know other players came in that situation too, but I can't think of them.
Should be valuable experience. The most notable international credentials come from Dakic, who earned a gold medal at the U18 FIBA Asia Cup and competed in multiple senior level competitions for Australia. Turnšek, who is one of Slovenia's most promising young players and has achieved significant success at youth levels in European competition.
Freya Jensen last summer came to ISU late due to national team obligations.
I had pretty much assumed we were done roster-building for the 26-27 season, but there's one more potential player suddenly followed by four of our coaches: 6'6" Zhang Xiao from China (not to be confused with 7'3" Zhang Ziyu). She has been playing for Beijing Normal University and probably only has one year of eligibility remaining.
baike.baidu.com
www.fiba.basketball
www.instagram.com
Zhang Xiao
Zhang Xiao attended Xi'an Tie Yi High School. In 2023, to bolster the inside depth of the Chinese U19 National Youth Team, she was urgently recruited to the team without any joint training.On September 21, 2021, in the 19-and-under women's basketball 5th-8th place classification match at the...
baike.baidu.com
Xiao Zhang (China) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age | FIBA Basketball
Explore the career and performances of Xiao Zhang. Access all stats, latest news, photos, videos and achievements.
smyle.zhang (@smyle.zhangxiao) • Instagram photos and videos
28 Followers, 47 Following, 1 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from smyle.zhang (@smyle.zhangxiao)
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I had pretty much assumed we were done roster-building for the 26-27 season, but there's one more potential player suddenly followed by four of our coaches: 6'6" Zhang Xiao from China (not to be confused with 7'3" Zhang Ziyu). She has been playing for Beijing Normal University and probably only has one year of eligibility remaining.
Zhang Xiao
Zhang Xiao attended Xi'an Tie Yi High School. In 2023, to bolster the inside depth of the Chinese U19 National Youth Team, she was urgently recruited to the team without any joint training.On September 21, 2021, in the 19-and-under women's basketball 5th-8th place classification match at the...
Xiao Zhang (China) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age | FIBA Basketball
Explore the career and performances of Xiao Zhang. Access all stats, latest news, photos, videos and achievements.
smyle.zhang (@smyle.zhangxiao) • Instagram photos and videos
28 Followers, 47 Following, 1 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from smyle.zhang (@smyle.zhangxiao)
Very interesting developement! We have room on the roster.
Also, about five miles from my house Co. RD ZZ intersects with XZ- they call it the "end of the road."
I think shell have 4 years since I don't think the new rules have gone affect.
Really good footwork for how tall she is. Obviously have to see it against p4 talent
Is she really 6'6" ? She moves like a deer. If her experience translates into our system and stays healthy this could be a great puzzle piece. F'n awesome...does what a post should and very actively.
She's been playing university basketball, which generally counts against eligibility even if foreign. But who knows what the rules are anymore (even before the new rules).
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