May 12, 2015
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State women's basketball head coach Stacie Terry has announced the addition of two talented student-athletes after Kylie Herd (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Arantxa Gomez Ferrer (Valencia, Spain) recently signed National Letters of Intent. The two players will arrive on Montezuma Mesa this summer and will be eligible to compete for the Aztecs in time for the 2015-16 campaign.
A 6-0 forward from Phoenix, Ariz., Herd was a two-year competitor at Mesa Community College, where she earned second-team NJCAA All-America honors as a sophomore after leading the Thunderbirds to their sixth consecutive Region I championship game. Last season, Herd was also named the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) Division II Player of the Year and garnered first-team all-conference and all-region accolades after topping the squad with 10.7 points per game on 51.2 percent shooting to go with a team-best 7.5 rebounds.
As a freshman in 2013-14, Hurd helped MCC capture the NJCAA Division II national championship, averaging 8.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 22 games while shooting 55.4 percent from the field. In the national tournament opener against Mercyhurst North East (Pa.), she tallied 18 points and eight rebounds, before notching a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards in a quarterfinal victory over Chesapeake College (Md.).
A prep standout at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, Herd earned first-team all-section and all-region honors during her senior season and received honorable mention all-state recognition by the Arizona Republic and the East Valley Tribune. She was also a two-time member of the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association all-star team. Herd plans to pursue a degree in interdisciplinary studies at SDSU.
"Kylie has a strong work ethic and exceptional leadership qualities, which will allow her come in and contribute right away," Terry said. "Not only does she have championship experience, but Kylie is also a very skilled player. She runs the floor well and is an excellent rebounder."
Gomez Ferrer, meanwhile, is a prep senior who competes for the Ros Casares Valencia club team where she is averaging 13.0 points per game on 51 percent shooting to go with 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Last month, the 6-0 power forward collected most valuable player honors after leading Ros Casares to the Comunidad Valenicana Regional Championship. With its title, Gomez Ferrer's squad, which finished with an undefeated record during the regular season, will now compete for a national championship. Earlier this season, she also earned MVP honors at the MHL Sports Tournament in Zaragoza, Spain, helping Ros Casares to a first-place standing.
In addition, Gomez Ferrer brings a wealth of experience as a member of the Spanish national team, with her under-18 squad finishing fourth in Spain's national tournament in 2013-14, while her U16 club took third in 2012-13. Gomez Ferrer, who also has a sister playing professional basketball in Spain, plans to major in aerospace engineering at San Diego State.
"Arantxa is extremely versatile and will be able to play multiple positions," Terry said. "Averaging nearly a double-double this season, she is always productive whenever she steps out on the court. She is also very aggressive off the dribble and is continuously in attack mode."
The addition of Herd and Gomez Ferrer raises the number of Aztec newcomers to four for the upcoming 2015-16 campaign after Kymberly Ellison (Columbus, Ga.) and Geena Gomez (Huntington Beach, Calif.) sat out last season as redshirts. Ellison, a Georgia Tech transfer, will have two years of eligibility remaining on The Mesa, while Gomez will have three years left after competing for one season at St. Joseph's (Pa.) in 2013-14.