MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota head coach
Lindsay Whalen has announced the addition of three student-athletes that have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Minnesota women's basketball program for the 2021-22 season. Signing NLIs with the Golden Gophers are Katie Borowicz, Maggie Czinano and Alanna Micheaux.
"I am thrilled to announce our 2021 Gopher Women's basketball recruiting class," Whalen said. "This trio brings us three extremely unselfish players who are willing to fill whatever role they need to in order to bring continued success to our program. They bring us dynamic skills on the court, as well as team first personalities off of it. They will be additions our fans will be thrilled to watch compete for four years at the University of Minnesota."
A native of Roseau, Minn., Borowicz (buh-RAH-vitch) currently attends Roseau High School. A four-star recruit according to ESPN, she is the 98th-ranked player overall in the class and the No. 19 point guard. The 5'7 Borowicz is a three-time all-state honoree, including this past season as she averaged 31.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.2 steals and 6.0 steals per. On the varsity team since seventh grade, she has scored over 2,000 points in her career and reached 1,000 by her sophomore season. Borowicz has helped Roseau to a state title in 2017, a runner-up finish in the following season and a spot in the semifinals in 2019. On the AAU circuit, she plays for Minnesota Stars.
In addition to basketball, Borowicz is also a two-time all-conference honoree in volleyball and finished eighth at state in the pole vault in 2016.
"Katie is a point guard who has tremendous court vision as well as an ability to score," Whalen said. "She put up elite statistics during her time at Roseau High School and I am excited for her to wear the Maroon and Gold for her home state."
Hailing from Watertown, Minn., Czinano (sih-NON-oh) is a 6'0 guard who attends Watertown-Mayer High School. She's a three-time all-conference honoree and was named all-state this past season as she averaged 21 points, 2.2 steals and 2.1 assists per contest. Czinano has helped her school to a pair of conference championships, a section championship and a third-place finish at the 2017 state tournament. Her AAU team is the Minnesota Fury, which won back-to-back state titles in 2019 and 2020 and finished second at the 2019 UAA Nationals.
In addition to basketball, Czinano has earned five letters each in soccer and track and field. She was a two-time all-conference honoree and a 2018 all-state honorable mention in soccer, and on the track she has finished second in her conference in the 200 meters and 4x200 relay.
Czinano will be the second member of her family to play in the Big Ten as her sister, Monika, is currently a junior at Iowa.
"Maggie is another home grown talent with championship level experience," Whalen said. "Her ability to play on the wing, as well as some stretch 4, set her apart for us during her recruiting process."
Micheaux (mih-SHOW) comes to the Gophers from Wayne, Mich., and Wayne Memorial High School. A 6'2 forward, she is a four-star recruit, the No. 75 player overall in the country and the No. 9 power forward according to ProspectNation.com.
Micheaux is coming off a junior season in which she was named first team all-state and all-region as she averaged 26.4 points, 14.0 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals per contest while shooting 64 percent from the floor. She helped lead her team to district and regional championships and an appearance in the Final Four in her first two seasons at Wayne and a third district championship a year ago before COVID-19 brought the season to an end. She plays AAU for 1Nation Detroit.
"Alanna comes to us from Detroit with an ability to score, defend and rebound the basketball," Whalen said. "Averaging a double-double last season in high school, we were impressed with how willing she was to do the little things necessary to help her team win."
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