On the first day of the spring signing period, Arizona’s new freshman and transfer classes started trickling in.
UA coach Adia Barnes' Wildcats have added five players for next season including freshmen Lauryn Swann, Katarina Knezevic and Mailien Rolf, along with transfers Paulina Paris and Sahnya Jah.
Arizona is still waiting on the paperwork for Rolf, who is from Germany. It should be coming in over the next few days.
Swann, who was the first to commit to the freshman class at the beginning of February, is a 5-7 combo guard of out Long Island Lutheran. Last week she was ranked at No. 81 in the Class of 2024 by ESPN’s HoopGurlz. Her addition to the list came late as she suffered injuries earlier in her career (four shoulder dislocations and a torn labrum) but played an important role on one of the best prep teams in the country.
Swann
“She is tough, competitive, and she does a great job of navigating ways to be successful in multiple roles. She is what I like to call a ‘DAWG,’” Barnes said in a post shared on the team's X (Twitter) account (@ArizonaWBB). “Her shooting ability is underrated. She can play on the ball and off the ball and adding her to our backcourt makes us a lot better. … She has faced a lot of adversity and has done a great job of navigating hard situations. She took a chance, she bet on herself, and she made a great decision.
Knezevic is a 6-foot forward from Serbia. She helped her U18 national team to a bronze medal last summer in the FIBA Women's European Championship by averaging 12.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists. She has been playing for the Serbian senior national team. She backed up former UA standout Jade Loville on Gran Canaria in Spain this season and prior to that played for Partizan in the Serbian 1 ZLS, where she led her team to the semifinals in the Serbian Cup.
“She is strong, tall and is (a) tremendous shooter,” Barnes said via X. “I call her ‘The Sniper.’ She is relentless, competitive and she is a fighter. Her game is really mature and she’s gonna add so much to our team. She can play a lot of positions and can stretch the floor for us. … Her mentality is going to separate her from the rest of the pack.”
Barnes isn’t done adding players to the roster for next season as she said on Tuesday that she expected to hear about another transfer later in the week. The two that she signed on Wednesday bring the type of experience the Wildcats need in different areas including athleticism, 3-point shooting and rebounding.
Guard Paulina Paris and North Carolina play against St. John’s in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, on March 18, 2023.
Paris is a 5-9 junior combo guard out of Congers, New York, and is transferring from North Carolina. She was a key reserve for the Tar Heels and sat out much of last season with a “lower body injury.” She was also on the All-ACC Academic team as a freshman. Paris was ranked No. 27 in ESPN’s Class of 2022 and the seventh best in her position.
Barnes said on X of Paris: “She has a very high basketball IQ and she makes her teammates better. Her ability to shoot the ball with deep range will open up so many opportunities for her teammates.”
Former South Carolina forward Sahnya Jah drives to the basket past Morgan State guard Nakilah Johnson in December. Jah, a top-40 recruit a year ago, is transferring to Arizona.
Jah, who announced her commitment to Arizona on Monday night just minutes before the WNBA draft started, is a 6-foot sophomore forward who transferred from South Carolina. From Alexandria, Virginia, Jah was ranked No. 40 in ESPN’s Class of 2023.
“She is such a special player,” Barnes said via X. “I remember seeing her for the first time and saying to myself, ‘Wow I want a player like that!’ She is someone that everyone gravitates towards, a fierce competitor and a gifted athlete. She is going to be a star here at Arizona.”
