Ashley Storey, ’15 Commits to University of New Hampshire
Ashley Storey doesn’t like talking on the phone very much and over the last few months she has had to spend a lot of time talking with Division I and II college coaches recruiting her. Last month she narrowed down her choices to University of New Hampshire, Assumption, and Holy Cross. Last week she decided it was time to stop talking and make a decision. On Friday she drove with her parents (Amy and Dale) and siblings (Jaclyn and Andrew) to Durham to tell Recruiting Coordinator Brendan Copes and Head Coach Maureen Magarity in person that she was verbally accepting a full scholarship to play basketball for the Wildcats beginning in 2015.
The 6’3” Junior led the Greely Rangers to the Western Maine Class B semifinals this season averaging 15.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while being named First Team in the Western Maine Conference. Storey has also been a pillar of the current Maine Firecracker 16u team that finished 2nd at the D2 AAU Nationals in 8th grade. Selected as a 2012 USJN All Star, other schools interested in the versatile post player’s services included Hartford, Bryant, Stonehill, Colgate, Lafayette, American, Fordham, Delaware, and Yale.
Firecracker Coach Brian Clement agreed that UNH seemed like an ideal fit for Storey, “The academic reputation, proximity, and campus were all what Ashley was looking for and she connected well with Coaches Magarity, Copes, Roux, and Hogan. They are a young, energetic, and personable staff that has created a family feel and winning culture in their program.” Clement further said, “‘Stretch’, as she is known as to most of her teammates and Firecracker Family, is a humble person and is very well liked and respected by her Firecracker teammates because she is so unselfish and loyal. She has been a pleasure to coach and she is extremely athletic and skilled for her size. She is also a versatile scorer, but what makes her so unique is that she loves to pass and rebound the basketball. She is much more interested in team success than individual statistics. Ashley is very good today but her upside potential is so high and I believe she will have a great career at UNH.”
Greely Coach Joel Rogers added, “Ashley is so deserving of this. She put in the time and effort to become an elite player and she will have an immediate impact.”
Former Marist standout Maureen Magarity became the youngest Division 1 coach in the country when she took the reins at UNH in 2010 and quickly put her stamp on the program by doubling the number of conference wins from the prior year. This season the Wildcats advanced to the America East semifinals for the second consecutive year, completing the regular season 12-4 in conference and finishing 19-12 overall. Prior to landing at UNH, she did stints at Fairfield, Marist, and West Point. Coach Magarity and her husband Brendan live in Durham with their daughter Charlotte.
Storey will join forces with fellow Mainer, Kristen Anderson, of Greene on the Wildcat roster.
Note: Ashley joins fellow Firecracker teammates and members of the Class of 2015, Ashley Briggs (St. Anselm College) and Victoria Lux (Bentley University) to commit to playing college basketball.
L to R: Dale Storey, Amy Storey, Ashley Storey, Coach Maureen Magarity, and Coach Brendan Copes