Summer Pahl Verbally Commits to University of Vermont; Becomes Youngest Ever Ontario Player to Announce NCAA D1 Commitment

Kitchener, ON – Allan Bush, Head Coach of Tricounty JUEL Prep Basketball, is pleased to announce the verbal commitment of Summer Pahl, a 5’10” Combo Guard to the University of Vermont, an NCAA Division I school located in Burlington, VT, and a member of the America East Conference. Pahl, who will be completing grade nine at St. Mary’s HS in Kitchener next month, has been awarded a full athletic scholarship and will attend Vermont starting in the 2018-19 academic year.

In announcing her commitment, Pahl becomes the youngest-ever player from Ontario to verbally commit to an NCAA Division I school in women’s basketball.

A visit to Vermont last summer set the wheels in motion for Pahl’s announcement.

“I attended the Vermont summer skills camp last August and fell in love with everything --- the town, the campus, and the coaching staff,” Pahl said.  “It was a very welcoming town and felt like home to me.  The university is well respected academically and has the program that I was looking for.”

“The main reason for picking Vermont, though, is (Head) Coach (Lori Gear) McBride,” she added.  “Once the offer came, I knew that it would be where I wanted to be so I decided to commit.  In doing so, I’m not wasting anyone’s time, and I can put my focus on getting better and stronger,” Pahl said.

Pahl continues the pipeline of commitments to Vermont from Waterloo Region.  In fact, she becomes the fifth area player to commit to the Catamounts since the year 2000.  Vermont’s 5th (Aaron Yanzti /Waterloo-Oxford) and 7th (May Kotsopoulos/WCI) career leading scorers are among those past players.

Most recently, twin sisters Candice and Courtney Wright, who played high school basketball at Jacob Hespeler Secondary in Cambridge and club basketball for the Tricounty Thunder, signed their National Letters of Intent and will be enrolling at Vermont this fall.  The Wrights will be in their senior season when Pahl enters her freshman year.

Canadian roots run deep at UVM; Vermont’s Head Coach, Lori Gear McBride, is Canadian, while current assistant coach, Courtnay Pilypaitis, is a native of Orleans, Ontario and competed for Canada in basketball at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Pilypaitis played for Vermont from 2006-2010, and ranks third all-time on their scoring list (1993 career points).

In accordance with NCAA regulations, Vermont is unable to comment on the status of a commitment until the player signs a National Letter of Intent to confirm their enrollment at the university.  However, her current coaching staff raves about her ability and versatility.

“Summer is extremely versatile, with the ability to run the point, post up, drive, or shoot threes,” said Tricounty Thunder’s Head Coach, Allan Bush. “Essentially, she can play any position on the floor from point guard to post.”

“That said, she’s also the best off-ball player I’ve seen in years,” he added.  “She’s an intense defender, and one of the hardest workers on and off the court.  She is the first player to dive for a loose ball, and the first to pick up a teammate off the floor that was knocked down.”

In talking about why Vermont made their offer, Coach Bush noted “Vermont loves her style of play, which their coaching staff feels is perfect for NCAA Division 1, and they also love her commitment to get better.  Vermont’s Head Coach, Lori Gear McBride, has seen her play five times in the last year and they are excited to get a high ceiling impact player.”

Tricounty JUEL Prep Assistant Coach Laura Bosser added that “Summer is already at a level where she consistently demonstrates basketball maturity both through skill and leadership.  And yet, she continues to strive for improvement each day.”

Pam Danis, former Head Coach at the University of Manitoba, has seen Pahl play on numerous occasions and agreed with the coaches’ comments.

“Summer is a special athlete that every coach loves to have,” Danis said, “everyday she comes to the gym striving to become the best she can be.  Her dedication, commitment and passion for the game will be a great addition to the Vermont program.”

With the Tricounty Thunder JUEL Prep team, Pahl was a key member of that squad that captured the Bronze Medal at the recent Ontario JUEL (Juvenile Elite League) Prep championship.  She also was a first-team District 8 Junior Girls’ all-star, leading the league in scoring and helping St. Mary’s to a 2nd place regular-season league finish.  Among her impressive performances during the high-school season was a 28-point scoring effort against league rivals Resurrection Catholic, the #1-ranked CWOSSA team who went undefeated against area competition, only allowing 15.8 points per game against in league play.

Mark Yolkowski, founder of CWOSSABasketball.com, a website dedicated to area high-school basketball, wasn’t surprised by Pahl’s commitment, or the attention that has been given to younger players in the area.

“There was a tremendous crop of local talent, including Summer, in grades nine and ten this past year,” said Yolkowski. “She is a great talent who also makes those around her better.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new record for number of post-secondary commitments in a graduating class for local players among those age-groups,” he added.

Coach Bush agreed with that assessment, and noted that Vermont might not yet be done in recruiting area talent from the Tricounty program.

“Vermont loves the skill level of our players and their commitment level.  I know they are interested in more of our elite players especially after our Juel Team finished 1st in the province and our Juel Prep Team placed 3rd in the province.”
Summer, who is entering the 10th grade at St. Mary’s in September, will play up on the St. Mary’s Senior Girls’ team this fall.  An all-around athlete, she has also advanced to this week’s CWOSSA track and field championships in the Shot Put and 4x400 relay for the Eagles.  She is planning to pursue physiotherapy at Vermont, with future plans of operating a physiotherapy clinic when her playing days are over.

About Tricounty Thunder Basketball

The Tricounty Thunder girls’ basketball program competes in the Juel league of Ontario. The Tricounty franchise develops talent from Kitchener-Waterloo, Brantford, and Guelph.

The Tricounty Thunder program now maintains one of only 14 teams competing in the Juel League of Ontario established to develop competitive players and deliver a platform to be scouted to compete in a post-secondary institution both across the country and internationally.

Players within this program demand attention from local basketball post-secondary institutions and attract inquiries from coaches and scouts south of the border.

Not only does this program promote skill development to enable athletic opportunity, but it also guides the athletes through the process of recruitment both nationally and within the NCAA standards.

This club also offers a Juel Prep team and a competitive summer travel program, which has made tournament appearances in North Carolina, Arizona, Kentucky, Illinois, Florida, New York, and Ohio.

Skills camps are hosted throughout the year and run by guest-coaches from the women’s basketball program at Windsor (Ontario), Acadia (Nova Scotia), and Memorial (Newfoundland).

Alumni from this program have achieved recognition within their post-secondary programs and continue to impact the leagues they progress in as they build on the skill development that was established within the Tricounty Thunder girls’ basketball club.

About CWOSSABasketball.com
CWOSSABasketball.com, founded by Mark Yolkowski in 2009, is an independent high school basketball website focusing on schools in Central-Western Ontario.

For more information, contact:
Allan Bush, Head Coach – Tricounty Thunder JUEL Prep
Phone: (519) 883-5350
allan.bush@cibc.ca

Mark Yolkowski, CWOSSABasketball.com
Cell: (519) 222-8248
mark@cwossabasketball.com