UCLA Completes Class with Standout Michaela Onyenwere
November 13, 2016 | Women's Basketball
The 5-foot-11 forward is ranked No. 10 in the 2017 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings by espnW.
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LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- UCLA head women's basketball coach Cori Close announced today the signing of Michaela Onyenwere (Aurora, Colo./Grandview HS) to a National Letter of Intent. Onyenwere will enter UCLA in the fall of 2017 as a freshman and will become a member of the 2017-18 women's basketball team. She joins 6-foot-2 forward Lauryn Miller (Kirkwood, Mo./Kirkwood HS), 6-foot-1 guard Chantel Horvat (Geelong, Australia/Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence), and 6-foot-1 guard Kayla Owens (Houston, Texas/Langham Creek HS) to complete the 2017-18 recruiting class.
"Michaela has been an elite athlete for a long time," Coach Close said. "But she has developed into an exceptional and elite basketball player in the last year. As good as she is as a player, she's an even better teammate and person. She's a culture and chemistry kid as well as a versatile, explosive athlete who can play the 2-4 positions. We are thrilled to have her join the Bruin family."
Onyenwere, a 5-11 forward, is ranked 10th in the 2017 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings by espnW and the third-rated forward in the country.
The Grandview Wolves won their first 26 games and were 14-0 in the Centennial League before losing, 69-67, to eventual champion ThunderRidge HS in the Class 5A semifinals last year. Onyenwere, who has won back-to-back Gatorade Player of the Year awards in Colorado, led Class 5A in scoring, averaging 24.5 points per game. She also averaged 10.6 rebounds, 4.0 steals, 2.3 assists and 1.4 blocks per game last season as a junior, Through three seasons under head coach Josh Ulitzky's tutelage, she has led Grandview to a 70-9 record while compiling a total of 1,709 points and 812 rebounds.
As a freshman in 2014, she made first-team all-state in Class 5A. She followed that up the next two years by winning Colorado's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016. At the state track meet in May of 2016, Onyenwere -- with very little training in the sport -- finished second in the 100 meters, third in the 200, fifth in the 400 and fifth in the long jump.
"I chose UCLA because of relationships," Onyenwere told espnW's Dan Olson. "UCLA assistant coach Jenny Huth not only took an interest in my basketball abilities, but my life too. I consider her my coach and a second mom.
"The balance of academics and athletics as well as the connection I made with my teammates further solidified my decision."