Oklahoma State signs six ECNL standouts to 2022 recruiting class

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State has inked six high school standouts, all of whom play club soccer in the ECNL, to its incoming class for 2022.

Two of the Cowgirl signees hail from Colorado, while there are one each from the Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma and North Carolina prep ranks.

“We’re excited about this class,” said OSU head coach Colin Carmichael. “With the seniors who are leaving, there’s certainly opportunities for kids to come in and play immediately. All these kids are going to enhance our group. We covered everything position wise, and we feel like we addressed the needs we have. We think this group can help us compete for Big 12 championships right off the bat.”

Oklahoma State Cowgirl Soccer Signees

Samantha Allen, F, Noble, Okla. (Noble HS/Norman Celtic ECNL) – Allen stars at Noble High School and at the club level for Oklahoma Celtic ECNL.

Over her first three prep seasons at NHS, Allen has tallied a school-record 113 goals and 42 assists. A three-time all-district performer, she set the school scoring record with 35 goals as a freshman before shattering that mark with 68 goals in her junior season while leading the team to the Class 5A quarterfinals.

At the club level, Allen is a two-time ECNL All-Texas Conference performer for Celtic.

Carmichael on Allen: “Samantha is one of the best high school scorers in the state of Oklahoma. She’s very dynamic, very creative and has great technique. She’s received a lot of accolades with her club, been recognized by other coaches as a very talented kid, and she’s come up through our camp system as well. We’re always excited to get some of the best talent in our state to stay home and come to Oklahoma State.”

Grace Bindbeutel, F/MF, O’Fallon, Mo. (St. Dominic HS/St. Louis Scott Gallagher) — One of the top forward recruits in the region, Bindbeutel is a United Soccer Coaches High School All-American starring at the high school and club levels.

The Class 4 Player of the Year at St. Dominic in 2021, Bindbeutel was also the 2019-20 Gatorade Missouri Girls Soccer Player of the Year as a sophomore after leading SDHS to a 26-3-1 record and Class 3 state championship. She had 29 goals and 15 assists during that prep season, with seven of her goals coming in the postseason, and was also honored as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch All-Metro Co-Player of the Year in 2019.

At the club level, Bindbeutel was named the ECNL Midwest Conference Player of the Year in 2017-18 after leading the club to a conference title, and she earned ECNL U-19 Midwest All-Conference Second Team honors in August 2021.

Bindbeutel is a three-star recruit by TopDrawerSoccer.com. She is ranked as the fourth-highest recruit in the Heartland Region and is 45^th nationally on the list of top forward recruits.

Carmichael on Bindbeutel: “Grace is a very dynamic player who scores a ton of goals and creates a lot of assists. She’s one of the most decorated players to come out of Missouri in the last several years, and we’re excited to get her on board with us as part of our attack. Her accolades speak for themselves, and we know she’s going to have a great four-year career with us.”

Kate Dunne, D, Denver, Colo. (Regis Jesuit HS/Real Colorado) — A standout for Real Colorado at the club level, Dunne was named a Top 40 Defender by TopDrawerSoccer.com in 2020, and she helped lead the team to a Northwest Conference championship in 2021.

Dunne also helped the club to a top-five national finish each of the last three years at the DA and ECNL levels and was a member of the Colorado ODP from 2016-18.

Also a star for Regis Jesuit High School, Dunne was named to the 2021 All-Continental League First Team as a junior.

A three-star recruit by TopDrawerSoccer.com, Dunne checked in at No. 25 in the Rocky Mountains and Southwest Region and ranked as the No. 53 defender nationally.

Carmichael on Dunne: “Kate plays on a prestigious club team, one of the top club teams in the country. She’s a tough, hard-nosed defender who likes to compete and loves to win. Her physical attributes are going to translate well to the Big 12. She will come in and make our back line stronger right away.”

Mary Claire Laudadio, D, Houston, Texas (St. Agnes Academy/Albion Hurricanes FC) — Laudadio stars for St. Agnes Academy, where she is a two-time, first-team all-district performer and earned all-state honors as a junior.

A defender, Laudadio has led St. Agnes to three district titles and three appearances in the TAPPS 6A state championship game, where they have claimed one state crown. As a junior, she was the MVP of the state championship game.

At the club level, Laudadio stars for Albion Hurricanes FC and has helped the team advance to the national playoffs each of the past four years. She was an All-Texas Conference Second Team selection for the 2020-21 ECNL season.

Carmichael on Laudadio: “Mary Claire comes from the Albion Hurricanes club where we’ve had a lot of success with recruits there. She’s a terrific athlete, a big, strong defender who will be able to run with some of the athletic forwards that we face in the Big 12. She should compete for minutes right away in our back line.”

Jordan Nytes, GK, Aurora, Colo. (Grandview HS/Real Colorado) — One of the nation’s top goalkeeper recruits, Nytes stars for Real Colorado and has led the club to a pair of ECNL regional championships and a berth in the ECNL quarterfinals in 2020.

At the prep level, Nytes is a standout at Grandview High School and was named to the 2021 All-Centennial League First Team as a junior.

Nytes is a four-star recruit by TopDrawerSoccer.com and is No. 129 on the IMG Academy 150 list. She is ranked 15^th nationally at the goalie position and is considered the No. 19 overall recruit in the Rocky Mountains and Southwest Region.

Carmichael on Nytes: “Jordan is one of the best goalkeepers in the country. We expect her to come in and compete for the starting job immediately. She’s very composed and has very good distribution with her feet, and she has the ability to make spectacular saves.”

Chloe Wright, MF, Wilmington, N.C. (E.A. Laney HS/Wilmington Hammerheads FC) — Wright stars at E.A. Laney High School, where she was an All-Region 4A-3 performer in 2019 and was named the midfielder of the year. She helped lead Laney to conference runner-up finishes in 2019 and 2020.

At the club level, Wright is a standout for Wilmington Hammerheads FC and was named the club’s Young Player of the Year in 2019.

Wright is listed by TopDrawerSoccer.com as the 35^th-best recruit in the South Atlantic Region.

Carmichael on Wright: “Chloe is a midfielder with a great engine who covers every blade of grass on the field. She’s aggressive, athletic, likes to do a lot of the dirty work, is very composed on the ball and distributes the ball very well. She’s that box-to-box midfielder that we’ve been needing.”