UCLA Women's Hoops Bags Two Top Prospects

UCLA head women's basketball coach Cori Close announced the signing of two highly-rated high school standouts to national letters of intent. The class consists of Ashley Hearn (Rowlett, Texas/Sachse HS) and Kennedy Burke (Northridge, Calif./Sierra Canyon HS). The two newcomers complete the Bruins' early signing class and will enter UCLA in the fall of 2015 as freshmen and will become members of the 2015-16 women's basketball team.

This marks UCLA’s second-straight Top 10 recruiting class after the Bruins landed their first-ever No. 1 class last year.

“"I’m thrilled to have such amazing and talented young women choosing to join our program and become a part of our Bruin family," Coach Close said. "They are both so excited to become Bruins. Ashley Hearn has been dreaming about this for years and Kennedy Burke always knew she wanted to stay close to home. Both of these young women fit into our “Uncommon” vision and they know what a privilege it is to be a Bruin."

Hearn, a 6-4 power forward, averaged 12.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 1.0 steals per game in the 2013-14 season at her high school.  A two-sport star, Hearn also competed in the shot put, discus and high jump in track and field.

Hearn is ranked as one of the Top 40 players in the country by most recruiting services including No. 12 by ESPN’s HoopGurlz, No. 15 by BlueStar Media, No. 30 by Full Court and No. 34 by Prospects Nation. She is also ranked near the top in the power forward rankings, coming in as the No. 2 rated PF by HoopGurlz, No. 6 by Prospects Nation and No. 11 by Full Court.

"Ashley (Hearn) is just scratching the surface on her potential," Close said. "She is just starting to blossom and will be an even better player next year. She has grown so much every season I have watched her. She is one of the best big athletes in the country. She will impact the game immediately with her ability to play defense, rebound, block shots and run the floor. As she begins to combine her athleticism with her skill set, there is no telling how good she can be."

Burke, a 6-1 guard, averaged 15.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game last year at Sierra Canyon High School in Northridge, California. She won a gold medal as a member of Team USA this past summer at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championships in the Czech Republic.

Burke is ranked as one of the Top 40 players in the country by most recruiting services including No. 16 by ESPN’s HoopGurlz, No. 19 by Full Court, No. 33 by Prospects Nation and No. 41 by BlueStar Media. She is also ranked near the top in the guard/wing rankings, coming in as the No. 5 rated G by HoopGurlz, No. 6 by Full Court and No. 8 by Prospects Nation.

"Kennedy (Burke) is a Kevin Durant-type of player," Close said. "By that I mean she is long, can guard a post player, can score inside, but can also run the point. She is such a long, versatile guard. She’s also a great passer and combined with her size and length, can see over the defense. She can impact the game with her length and rebounding ability on the defensive end and can impact it with her shooting and passing abilities on the offensive end. She is a stat sheet stuffer."



By Staff of the TheDailySportsHerald.com