Women’s Basketball Announces 2015-16 Incoming Class

TAMPA, Fla. - University of Tampa women's basketball coach Tom Jessee has announced his 2015-2016 incoming class. This class features six players, which are made up of two freshmen and four transfers.

The class is made up of Elena de Alfredo, Diamond Douglas, Emma Karamovic, Teresa Kucera, Jenny Horvatinovic, and Danielle Roberts.

"We feel real good, we got some spots filled that we thought we had weaknesses in from last year's team. Anytime you can do that you feel like you are successful but you won't know until they get on the court" says Jessee. "We got a combination of a couple young players and some transfer kids who can get us immediate help in some areas we felt we were lacking in, so we are excited about that. It can go down as a great recruiting class or it can go down as an average one, again it will have to play out, and only time can tell for us."

Following are bios on each of the signees.

Elena de Alfredo is transferring into Tampa, after starting her career at the University of Toledo. De Alfredo is originally from Madrid, Spain. She has been a member of the Spanish National team since she was 14 years old. She has also helped the Spain team to a National Championship in the U19 tournament. At Toledo she appeared in 21 games her sophomore season. She averaged 12.3 points per game for the Spanish U-18 National Team that placed fifth at the 2012 European Championship.

"We expect Elena to come in and compete for the starting spot at the point guard position. She can really shoot it, and is one of the better floor vision kids I have seen in a while. I am really excited to get her into our system, I feel we stumbled around that position last year, as we had about five different kids play the point last year. She is a true point guard, who can shoot the ball. She loves to pass the ball and has a big motor out on the court. She got a good amount of playing time at Toledo and we expect big things from her right away. "

Diamond Douglas comes to Tampa by way of Brandywine, Maryland. She will be a freshman after graduating from Charles H. Flowers High School. Douglas will come in to play guard for the Spartans. She will major in Cyber Security and has the aspiration to work for the NSA.

­­"Diamond is a kid that can end up being a real good steal for us. She is a freshman one-two combo guard from the Maryland area. She had some injuries early in her career, which kept her out of the showcases, so not a lot of people saw her. Really talented, can shoot the basketball well, she has a high basketball IQ, and plays with a high motor. She loves the game, and I am real excited for her to come in and see what kind of player we can make out of her. "

Emma Karamovic is a 6-1 freshman that comes to Tampa by way of Boras, Sweeden. Karamovic had an outstanding high school career, as she was named Sports Shield Player of the Year. She was also involved at the international level, as she competed in the Sea Baltic Cup with the national team. Karamovic will be studying psychology here at Tampa, and has aspirations to play professional basketball overseas.

"Emma is another freshman that we signed early in November that we are really excited about. She is a kid that can come in and make an impact right away. She is a 6-1 kid that can shoot the three and take you off the dribble. She is an international player with a big motor and a high basketball IQ. She can be a matchup nightmare, can post you up, can take you out on the perimeter and can play a couple different positions. I think when she learns our system and adjusts to the American game a little bit, she can be a really good player for our program."

Teresa Kucera is a 6-2 transfer from Germany. She is coming to Tampa after playing at Seton Hall the past two seasons. Last season she appeared in 15 games for the Pirates. During her freshman campaign, she appeared in 27 games, as she ranked second in the Big East in conference-only-3-point shooting percentage at 46.9 percent. Kucera is planning on majoring International Business. She was also a member of the under 16 and 18 German National Team.

"Teresa is a transfer from Seton Hall. She will be a junior for us and has some good college playing experience. Tall kid, can play the four and five for us. Shoots the ball, stretches the floor, and being an International kid, she has a good basketball IQ. I expect for her to come in right away and compete for playing time. If we play her at the five, we can really spread the floor and still have the length and size that we want inside. So we are really excited for her and the sky is the limit."

Jenny Horvatinovic will be a junior transfer from Monmouth University. Last season she was one of three players to play in all 31 games for the Hawks, including 18 starts on the season. She averaged 6.8 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. She scored double figures in 11 games and recorded her first double-double against LIU Brooklyn. Horvatinovic also posted a career high 22 points against Maryland Eastern Shores. In her freshman campaign she saw action in 29 games, as she averaged 4.3 points per game. In high school, she was a four-year starter and earned a McDonald's All-America nominee. During her career she compiled 1,100 career points.

"Jenny is one of the most versatile players we have had in a while, she can play the two, three, or the four spot. She shoots it well, just has the total package. Can handle it, can rebound it, she can pass it. She is one of the better passers, she is an unselfish player and our post players will love her because she can absolutely get them the basketball down low. Again, another place we felt we struggled last year was getting the ball down low to our post players. Jenny played two years at Monmouth and got a good amount playing time, including a good amount of games started. We expect her to come in and compete right away at the three position. I think she is a kid that we can run our offense through. "

Danielle Roberts is a transfer from Georgia Southern University. She is originally from Dayton, New Jersey. At Georgia Southern she played in 23 games, where she netted a season high nine points at Elon. She also scored four points in a game at Kentucky. In high school she was a four year letter winner at South Brunswick High School, where she averaged 10.2 points a game and 5.6 assists per game. She also participated in the North/South All-Star Classic. Roberts was also a dual-sport athlete, as she also played soccer in high school.

"Danielle is a division I transfer for us, that is a one-two combo kid. She looks to me on film that can come in for us and compete at the one for us. She has some college experience at the D1 level, played for a really good AAU program out of the New Jersey area and we are hoping she can come in and add some depth at that position."