The Wesleyan Athletics Department has set a school record for the recruiting class of 2019. As of August 1, 2019, the Wolves have 45 committed athletes that will move on campus in the coming weeks and that number continues to grow. This will be largest incoming student-athlete class in school history. In September of 2018, Wesleyan College made a statement to the USA South Conference that the school was here to compete by bringing in Head Softball Coach and Athletics Director Penny Siqueiros. Coach Siqueiros and her staff have recruited top notch athletic talent to help boost every athletic team on campus. In just a few short weeks, athletes that were named All-State, All-Region, MVP, Leading Scorer, and even some who are nationally ranked will move onto campus and begin their collegiate playing careers with the Wolves. This has brought a great bit of excitement to campus.
The breakdown of recruits per sport are as follows: basketball 15; softball 17; soccer 9; equestrian 3; cross country 1. The important thing about these recruits is that they are high caliber students. Several of them are coming in with a grade point average (GPA) over 3.25.
The softball team, led by Head Coach Penny Siqueiros and Assistant Coach Jonathan Long, will be welcoming 17 incoming athletes. This number includes five junior college transfers and one division one transfer. Head Coach Penny Siqueiros is very excited to have her first incoming class coming in as her career at Wesleyan continues. Both Coach Siqueiros and Coach Long believe that it's exciting times at Wesleyan. Athletes from all over the country interested in making campus visits and attending Wesleyan.
Head Coach Kyle Herring will be entering his second season at the helm of the Wolves' Basketball program. He is bringing in fifteen athletes this season as he begins to rebuild a program who lost most players last season. "I am really excited about these incoming players. I really feel like we have gotten a few steals, a few players better than our normal level of competition. One thing we did load up on was shooters. Our lineup is full of people who can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court. It will be interesting to see how the pieces all come together once we hit the court on October 15," says Herring.
The soccer program will be adding nine to its roster this season. There are also a good number of returners coming back to the team. Head Coach Seth Semones is excited to be leading his first full season with his own recruits this season. When asked about his recruits, Coach Semones says, "This group of incoming players will bring an energy and talent level to the team that the returning players will pair with their experience and leadership on the field to help turn the program into the direction we are striving for."
The Cross Country team, led by Co-Head Coaches Jonathan Long and Penny Siqueiros, will be adding one recruit to their team with several returning from last season. Coach Long would love to see his roster grow to ten or twelve by the time classes begin. "Cross Country is a tough sport to recruit for. Many high school runners are tired of running by the time they get to the college level. Adding a local recruit from a high school not far from campus will help us spark attention in the area for runners. Wesleyan is here to compete in all sports including Cross Country.", Coach Long said about his upcoming season and recruiting class.
The equestrian team is not sanctioned by NCAA athletics but is under the athletics umbrella at most institutions. Wesleyan is proud of their program that has won several competitions at the national level and continue to bring attention to this great sport. Coach Catherine Texter Baker leads the program and is very excited about her growing program. She currently has three committed athletes and that number continues to grow as students continue to make their decisions on where they will continue their riding careers.