Aggies Newcomers Ranked First in the SEC, 11th in the Nation

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M Soccer's group of six newcomers was ranked tops in the SEC and 11th in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer in their 2018 Women's Recruiting Rankings released Wednesday.

Texas A&M's newcomers include goalkeeper Jordan Burbank (Edmond, Okla.), defenders Macie Kolb (McKinney, Texas) and Karlina Sample (Frisco, Texas), midfielder Kendall Bates (Melissa, Texas), midfielder/forward Tera Ziemer (Santa Rosa, Calif.) and forward Ásdís Karen Halldórsdóttir (Reykjavik, Iceland).

Bates, Burbank, Kolb, Sample and Ziemer enrolled in Texas A&M in January and went through spring workouts with the club. Halldórsdóttir signed her paperwork in May.

The Aggies' recruiting class was also the only top 15 group among schools in Texas.

The SEC had four schools ranked in the top 30, including Tennessee (21st), Alabama (24th) and South Carolina (25th). Stanford topped the list, followed by USC, North Carolina, Virginia and Notre Dame in the top five. Michigan, Washington, Duke, Penn State and Florida State rounded out the top 10.

Texas A&M wrapped up the 2017 season with a program best winning percentage (.864) on 18-2-2 mark. The Maroon & White earned a bid to their 23rd consecutive NCAA Championship and advanced to the second round of the tournament for the 19th straight season. Texas A&M looks to fill the void left by departed seniors Mikaela Harvey, Stephanie Malherbe, McKayla Paulson and Haley Pounds.

The Maroon & White open the 2018 campaign on August 17 as they travel to Honolulu for a match against the Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine. Texas A&M has exhibition matches scheduled at Ellis Field for Sunday, August 5 against Texas Southern and Saturday, August 11 vs. TCU.