First year women’s basketball Head Coach Brady Sallee has officially welcomed in his first recruiting class for Eastern.

The coach, who stresses athleticism and competitiveness, is excited about the players he has brought into the fold for future seasons. The five players that Sallee targeted as recruits that signed with Eastern are from three states in the Midwest; three came from Indiana, one came from Michigan and only one came from Illinois.

Sallee said that recruiting in the Midwest for the first time was not a problem because he knew who to contact and how to view a lot of these players.

“I called upon a couple of contacts that led me in the right direction out here,” Sallee said. “A couple of these players I saw while I was still at East Carolina, but really there was nothing different about the recruiting process upon my move out here.”

Looking for players who fit his mold, Sallee has named Julie Lipperd, Kara Kramer, Lindsey Kluempers, Megan Edwards and Ellen Canale as members of his first freshmen recruiting class.

Lipperd, Kramer and Kluempers all are coming to Eastern from Indiana, and Canale joins the Panthers from the Detroit suburb of Canton, Mich. The lone woman from Illinois, Edwards, has the impressive resume of possibly becoming the all-time leading scorer at the Des Plaines high school of Main West where she has been on two state champion teams.

“(Edwards) is a kid who is so well-rounded it’s almost scary,” Salle said. “She’s brilliant in her school work, and her leadership abilities are off the chart.”

Canale was a player that Sallee noticed after attending a Junior Olympics event in Michigan. Since seeing her play, Sallee has felt that she could play the point or either swing position.

“She already has a strong Division I body, so she can get in and rebound but also has the quickness to play exactly the way we want her to,” Sallee said. “Defensive pressure and quickness are her game, and that fits us well.”

Kramer is a player that Eastern is hoping will develop into a player that can challenge at the point guard position throughout her career. Between her height (she stands at 5 feet 8 inches) and her ability, Sallee thinks she has plenty of potential.

“(Kramer) was exactly what I was looking for in a point guard because she is very quick and plays at a high tempo,” Salle said. “At 5’8″ she causes extra problems in pressing situations.”

Lipperd was the inside presence that the coaching staff was looking for with senior center Pam O’Connor departing after this season.

“She is right up my ally as far as her mentality and demeanor on the court,” Sallee said. “She’s a girl we could put down on the block, and she will just beat people up for awhile.”

Kleumpers rounds out the group, as another guard with size that Sallee feels will be able to handle the ball and pressure defensively the way he wants to.

To sum up, the group that will be coming to Eastern next year, Sallee said he looked, simply, for “competitors.”

“These girls all have that in common; you throw them out on the floor and they’ll fight you tooth and nail,” he said.