KU soccer adds five on National Signing Day
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas head soccer coach Mark Francis announced Thursday that the Jayhawks signed five student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period. Lia Beyer (Parker, Colo.), Gracely Briley (Olathe, Kan.), Gabbie Dawe (Collierville, Tenn.), Ellie Prybylski (Suwanee, Ga.) and Mya Sheridan (Schertz, Texas) will all suit up in the Crimson and Blue next season.
“This class will make us more athletic,” said Francis. “It will give us some people in positions that will give us a lot more depth and they will compete with some of the returners to play right away. This whole class is very technical – some very technical players – which will fit in very well with our style and how we try and play.”
Lia Beyer // Defender // Parker, Colo. // Legend High School (Real Colorado)
- Helped the U16/17 Real Colorado to the National Championship for the U16/17 U.S. Development Academy.
FRANCIS ON BEYER: “Lia is a wide-back and she’s very comfortable in that spot. She’s a very good 1-v-1 defender and very athletic. She’s great with the ball and does well playing out of the back and playing simple. I think she’ll fit in well with what we want our wide backs to do.”
Gracely Briley // Midfielder // Olathe, Kan. // Blue Valley Southwest
- A two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Kansas.
- The United Soccer Coaches named her the Kansas High School Player of the Year and an All-American following her junior season in 2018.
- Helped Olathe Northwest to back-to-back 5A State Championships in 2017 and 2018.
- A three-time Eastern Kansas League First Team selection.
- Has tallied 41 goals and 22 assists during her first three high school seasons.
FRANCIS ON BRILEY: “Gracely has great size and is very athletic. She can play anywhere centrally, whether that’s in the back or in the midfield. I see her playing more in the midfield for us. She’ll obviously give us a lot of athleticism but she’s also very good on the ball and consistent connecting passes. Gracely will definitely be a great presence for us in the midfield.”
Gabbie Dawe // Goalkeeper // Collierville, Tenn. // Houston High School
- Has collected 36 career shutouts in two seasons as the starting goalkeeper for the Mustangs, with 19 of those coming in the 2017 seasons.
- Helped Houston HS to three state championships (2015, 2017, 2018).
- The great-great granddaughter of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball and the first men’s basketball coach at Kansas.
FRANCIS ON DAWE: “Gabbie has a ton of potential as a goalkeeper. You can’t teach height and athleticism and she already has both of those so I think she has a great base to start from. We look forward to having her join our goalkeeping crew.”
Ellie Prybylski // Defender // Suwanee, Ga. // Lambert High School
- A two-time letterwinner for Scott Luthart’s Lambert Longhorns squad.
- Helped Lambert to the 2017 Georgia State and Region 7A championships.
- Named to both the All-Region and All-County teams in 2017 after netting 15 goals and tallying a team-high 13 assists.
FRANCIS ON PRYBYLSKI: “Ellie is very quick and very good on the ball. She’s got a great left foot – strikes the ball as well as anybody I’ve seen. I can see her playing out wide, but she has the versatility to play other positions.”
Mya Sheridan // Forward // Schertz, Texas // Samuel Clemens High School
- Scored 40 goals and added 14 assists in her first three years for her Samuel Clemens squad.
- A First Team All-District selection in 2017-18 after leading the district with 27 goals.
- As a sophomore, named to the All-Tournament as well as All-District Second team in 2016-17.
- Spent three years with Olympic Development Program, recording three goals in her final year.
FRANCIS ON SHERIDAN: “Mya is very technical, a great finisher and she’s quick. She’s very dangerous in and around the box. We’ll be graduating some attacking players so we expect her to come in and give us some depth and challenge some of the attacking returners this next season.”
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