With its inaugural season in the books, the Sac State women?s basketball team under the direction of head coach Carolyn Jenkins, will now look to upgrade its roster during this recruiting period.

Last season?s 3-23 record exposed a lot of weaknesses for the Hornets, which Jenkins will look to rectify with her first recruiting class at Sac State.

Jenkins? goal this spring with recruiting is very practical and realistic. “We want to find players this season that can enhance the team,” Jenkins said.The players brought in this off-season will not only increase the talent level, but will also serve as the foundation for Sac State under the Jenkins regime. Jenkins now has the opportunity to shape the team in her image.

The Hornets? strategy will be to go for the players with the most talent, regardless of position. Jenkins expects eight to nine new faces next season to go along with a couple players she singled out as potential building blocks for her fledgling team. She mentioned the versatility of guard Sydney Gatson, who will be eligible next season along with the promise that freshman forward Tolla Tollman showed, and the return of Tracey Kenyon, who was injured last year. The improvement of these players from year one to year two in her program will be vital to the success of the team.

What will be vital to Jenkins? success as a head coach at Sac State will be her ability to bring in the right quality players that she can win with.

“I would like my team to be made up of good players who buy into what I want to do,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins and her staff have identified their needs and have devised a list of the top players from both the high school and junior college ranks to best suit those needs. Since Jenkins took over last June, she has had her list of prospects revised and at the same time crafted a scheme to get those players. That plan has been in place for several months now and Jenkins and her staff are currently in the process of executing it.

“Now it?s time to close the deal,” Jenkins said.

Closing the deal with their top targets and their most coveted players is easier said than done for Jenkins, who was known for her strong recruiting skills while serving as an assistant with both Michigan State and Stanford. Those skills will be put to the test this spring, as she must sell players on the idea of playing for a Sac State team that won three games last season.

“It?s up to players to look at our record and judge whether it?s a reflection of the work being done by the staff or what?s to come in the future. It?s up to the players to decide this,” Jenkins said.

If Jenkins gets her way, the Hornets will improve themselves in two major areas. Jenkins identified the team has needs at the inside post (as the Hornets top two inside post players were 5-feet 11-inches and 5-feet 10-inches last season). They would also like to add both depth and athleticism on the perimeter, which will allow the team to play an up-tempo style for 40 minutes.

Not only is getting players that are top athletes a priority for Jenkins, but also getting players that are high energy, high character, and ones that will instill a winning attitude.”We look not only at talent level and skill, but also at players who play hard for 40 minutes,” Jenkins said.

With their targets lined up, Jenkins and her assistants will now pursue their players. Several methods of recruiting will be applied in the process. They are focusing on players from the California region and have made a series of visits and calls to those players. The final part of the recruiting process consists of Jenkins bringing players to visit the Sac State campus. Jenkins is not allowed to comment specifically on whom the team has landed but insists that recruiting is “going very well,” with a sense of satisfaction in her voice.

Regardless of whether the Hornets get their primary targets or not, Jenkins expects improvement next season. Last season’s team had only seven healthy players, which crippled the coaching staff in terms of the style of basketball they could play.With a bolstered

lineup, Jenkins expects the team to finish in the top half of the Big Sky next season. “I see us playing an up-tempo style for 40 minutes, pounding people with a high level of intensity,” Jenkins said.

There are a variety of needs that will be addressed in the following off-seasons, but this spring is about getting players who can allow the Hornets to be competitive in the Big Sky.