ST. BONAVENTURE – St. Bonaventure women’s basketball coach Jesse Fleming last week announced the addition of three players to the 2021-22 recruiting class.
Taylor Napper, Kacee Baumhower and Alexis Sinclair have signed National Letters of Intent to join the women’s basketball program in the fall semester of 2021.
“We want winners,” Fleming said. “We wanted St. Bonaventure kids that really want to be here. I think all three of them are going to be gym rats and they all just absolutely love the game of basketball so we are excited to have them in this recruiting class.
“I think they are going to click really well together and address our needs, whether it’s replenishing the guard spot or adding another big that has a real high upside. We are thrilled to have them as a part of our team.”
NAPPER, a 6-foot forward from Lorton, Va., plays for St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C. According to Dan Olson of Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, Taylor is ranked No. 178 in her class nationally and No. 28 among power forwards. As a junior, Napper averaged 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks per game and helped lead St. John’s to a 2020 DCSAA state championship. She was also a WCAC all-conference honorable mention. Napper intends on majoring in early childhood education at St. Bonaventure.
“Taylor is going to be a really good player,” Fleming said. “She plays at the highest level of high school basketball she can play in at St. John’s. She’s a player that just does her job and can play the 4 or the 5. She’s been extending her game out beyond the perimeter, but does a really good job of relocating off drives. She also rebounds the ball and runs the floor really hard. I think she is going to really help us and is a prototypical four-man in the Atlantic 10.”
BAUMHOWER, from Sylvania, Ohio, is a 5-foot-9 guard for Sylvania Northview High School. Last season as a junior, Baumhower averaged 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals per game as Sylvania Northview reached the OHSAA district semifinals. Also in 2019-20, she was named First-Team All-Ohio while also being tabbed the NLL Player of the Year. Baumhower is a three-year team captain of the basketball team. Academically, she was on the honor roll all four years. Baumhower plans to be a sports management major at St. Bonaventure.
“Kacee is a different type of point guard than Deja (Francis) is,” Fleming stated. “They both are distributors, but Kacee has a little bit more size and is a little bit more physical. She likes setting up her teammates, pushing the ball in transition and then she’s a really hard worker as well. She’s got a nice feel for the game and I think it’s going to be great for her to play a year or two under Deja and then hopefully hand the reins over to her.”
SINCLAIR joins the program from Carol Stream, Ill. A 5-8 guard for Bartlett High School, Sinclair averaged 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds per contest as a junior last year. For her career at Bartlett, she averages 15 points, four rebounds and four assists per game. Sinclair’s accolades include all-conference honors, all-area honors, academic all-conference and Athlete of the Year. Sinclair also holds the school record in career and single-game assists while also scoring over 1,000 points for her career. She intends to major in sports management at St. Bonaventure.
“Lexie is a true combo-guard,” Fleming said. “She is an aggressive downhill attacker and is just a tough kid that can shoot the three as well. She has a high motor and just puts her head down and goes. Lexie is an athlete that can play the one, two or three for us. She is always going to compete and we are excited to have her.”
