Maryland women’s basketball garnered the 10th-ranked 2022 recruiting class in the country after receiving letters of intent from two players on Wednesday: forward Mila Reynolds and guard Ava Sciolla.
It’s yet another display of coach Brenda Frese’s recruiting acumen. Frese has picked up 15 top-ten recruiting classes during her time in College Park, including the top class in 2016 and 2019, according to the recruiting service All-Star Girls Report.
The results of Frese’s strong recruiting are evident on the current roster. Her 2019 class included Ashley Owusu, Diamond Miller, Faith Masonius and Zoe Young. In the two years since, Frese signed ESPN’s No. 2 national recruit Angel Reese and No. 22 recruit Shyanne Sellers.
Associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Karen Blair was an integral part of signing those classes, and she was similarly involved this year.
Both of this year’s recruits have one thing in common: they’re coaches’ kids. Blair thought that fact separated them from many others due to their ability to take criticism and understand the game.
The Terps have been recruiting Reynolds, who’s ranked 47th by ASGR, since her freshman year. She immediately caught their eye with her intense play and scoring ability.
“Mila is a versatile forward that can play inside and out. She should help us stretch the floor with her ability to shoot the ball,” Frese said in a statement. “She’s a proven winner and comes from a great family. Her dad is a coach, so I know she can bring basketball IQ.”
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Reynolds has scored more than 1500 points in her high school career, helping South Bend Washington High School to the Indiana Class 3A state championship game. She was named Northern Indiana Conference MVP in her junior year and has made the First Team in each of her first three seasons, according to the release.
This past July, Frese went to watch her play for the first time, and Reynolds scored more than 20 points and dominated the game, according to Blair.
“Her quote [afterward] was, ‘I’m not going to embarrass Brenda Frese today,’“ Blair said. “I love to hear comments like that … Mila is going to thrive under Brenda.”
Reynolds touted Maryland’s diversity as one of the reasons she chose to attend, along with the campus’s beauty. Most of all, she was impressed by Frese, Blair and the rest of the coaching staff, according to a news release.
“The coaches recruited me the hardest compared to other schools, showing how much they wanted me,” Reynolds said in a statement. “They have become more like a second family for me rather than just coaches of the college I will soon play at.”
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Sciolla, who hails from Pennsylvania, is ranked 68th by ASGR. She was also named to the All-State 6A team in 2021, according to the release. She’s known for her shooting, but Blair said the guard’s passing abilities are underrated, and she has a knack for setting up her teammates.
The guard averaged 17 points per game in her junior year and is an intense competitor, Frese said. Maryland’s coaching staff kept tabs on Sciolla for a while, but given the pandemic, the coaches watched her play in person for the first time this summer.
Over the summer, Blair recalled watching Sciolla score a pivotal three-pointer late in a tournament game, which delighted the coach.
“You want to see players … that want to be able to take that shot and make that shot,” Blair said. “So that’s the kind of player that you love to be able to coach, that’s ready for those big moments.”
