Buffs Add First Two Recruits Of 2017 Class

BOULDER - Colorado women's basketball coach JR Payne announced the signing of two student-athletes on Thursday on the second day of the NCAA's Early Signing Period. Aubrey Knight (Ventura, Calif.) and Annika Jank (Edina, Minn.) both signed a National Letter of Intent. A third student-athlete has also signed with the group, but will be announced on Friday.

"We are extremely excited about our incoming class of 2017," first-year head coach JR Payne said. "We were very fortunate to sign such outstanding young women who will bring a tremendous amount of length, athleticism and energy to our basketball program. They are great students, great people and will have an immediate impact when they arrive in Boulder."

Knight is a 6-foot-1 guard, who is ranked as the 73rd-best player in the country by ESPN, a four-star recruit. At Ventura High School, she was named the CIF Division I AA Player of the Year as a junior. She led Ventura to its second section championship in three seasons and averaged 14.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, while shooting 62 percent from the floor last year. Ventura has also won its league championship all three years. Knight is also a three-year letterwinner in volleyball and has a .540 hitting percentage this year, while twice earning first-team all-county and league.

"We have been watching Aubrey since she was a sophomore in high school," Payne said. "Aubrey is definitely our kind of player. She has an incredible motor, is extremely gifted athletically and has so much upside. Aubrey loves the game of basketball and will bring a high level of intensity and work ethic to our team immediately."

Jank is a 6-foot-3 forward and is ranked as the 20th-best player at her position, according to ESPN. She averaged 14.2 points as a junior in basketball and has earned all-state honors twice and all-conference three times. This winter will be her fifth season on the varsity and she has already scored over 1,000 points and is the school's second-leading rebounder all-time and is in the top five in scoring. She is also a two-sport star at Edina High School, also playing on the volleyball team.

"Adding depth inside is very important to this class and Annika does just that," Payne said. "She is extremely long and runs the floor very well. Annika is a great fit for our up-tempo style of play and will provide versatility to our post corps."

Complete, in-depth profiles on all three signees will be released throughout the season.

Colorado opens the 2016-17 season on Friday at Northern Colorado and hosts Air Force at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

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