Women's Basketball signs two Texas standouts to National Letters of Intent
AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas women's basketball head coach Jody Conradt announced Wednesday the signing of two high school players to National Letters of Intent for the upcoming 2007-08 academic year. Both of the signees are in-state recruits and Street & Smith High School All-Americans: 6-2 forward Kathleen Nash (Plano, Texas) who stars at State 5A defending champion Plano West High School and who was named MVP of the 2006 Texas state tournament; and 6-1 forward Rachel Rentschler from Fort Worth, Texas and Fort Worth Christian who has led her team to three consecutive Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) large school state championships. These two signings will complete the Longhorns' 2007-08 recruiting class. Wednesday is the first day of the November early signing period, which runs through Wednesday, Nov. 15. Rentschler is rated as the nation's No. 8 top player at her position by Scout.com/HoopGurlz.com, which is the official content and selection partner for the national and state Gatorade Player of the Year girls basketball program. In those same national rankings, Nash is rated as the 14th-best forward nationally. Nash is the younger sister of current Longhorns basketball 6-3 freshman forward Kristen Nash. A Division I-caliber All-State volleyball player as well as basketball standout, Kathleen led 35-6 Plano West to the 2006 Texas UIL State Class 5A (large school) championship last March over Rockwall, 54-47, as she collected 17 points and eight rebounds en route to her MVP honors. Plano West, coached by Don Patterson, was ranked No. 20 in the final 2006 high school rankings by Sports Illustrated. Nash also claimed 2005-06 Street & Smith All-America Honorable Mention plaudits for the second year in a row, earned All-State honors from Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA), was the District 8-5A Defensive Player of the Year Rentschler, coached by John Anderson, was named to the National Christian School Athletic Association (NCSAA) All-America First Team as a sophomore and junior, and was the only sophomore and only junior on those respective teams. She also earned 2006 Street & Smith Honorable Mention All-America honors. A three-time First Team All-State standout by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, Rentschler was named TABC's 2006 Large Private School "Player of the Year" as a junior when she led the 32-7 Cardinals to their third straight state title with averages of 20.3 points and six rebounds per game. In the TAPPS 5A finals, Rachel collected a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) in Ft. Worth Christian's 64-42 victory over Argyle Liberty Christian. Rachel already is the all-time leading scorer at Forth Worth Christian with 2,282 points entering her senior season. "In Kathleen and Rachel, we've signed two of the best shooters in this class, and I am thrilled to welcome them to The University of Texas," noted Conradt upon receiving the two National Letter of Intents. "The word I would use to describe them is `versatile', as both are capable of playing multiple positions. Both Rachel and Kathleen come from championship-level programs as well. Since both have been verbally committed to us for quite some time, it feels like they already should be here! We anxiously await their arrivals to Texas. "Kathleen has a huge up-side in basketball, as she has spent a lot of her past off-seasons and summers traveling with elite volleyball clubs. We saw her real potential during last year's state tournament here in Austin. She was quite impressive, and we look for her to be out on the perimeter and be a big guard for us. "Rachel has not received a lot of national attention since she has played high school basketball at a private school," Conradt continued. "I love shooters, and Rachel definitely brings that skill to our program - something our team needs. She is an inside-outside player and has a very diverse game." Here are brief bios/honors/accomplishments on these two in-state players who signed National Letters of Intent with Texas. Kathleen Nash (6-1 F, PLANO, TEXAS/PLANO WEST HS)
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