University of Tennessee at Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster brought in the beginning of his first signing class Wednesday on the first day of the early signing period. The Hall of Fame coach added three to the 2014-15 roster.
Ashlyn Wert
Called “Quiet Storm” by her father, Ashlyn Wert is the tallest signee ever for the Chattanooga women’s basketball team at 6-foot-5 ½. Ashlyn, recently transferred from Lancaster Country Day School where she picked up the sport as a sophomore and is now enrolled at JP McCaskey High School. At Lancaster Country Day, she ranked fourth in the Tri-Valley League for blocked shots and was second on her team in scoring, earning her the team’s Most Valuable Player award. Over the summer she played AAU ball for Philly Triple Threat and helped her team to the Queen of the Court Championship in Elizabeth, N.J.
Despite her height, Ash was not interested in basketball until her sophomore year when she decided to take the plunge and fell in love with the sport. Prior to basketball, she was a member of the swim team and took part in a peer mentoring club helping younger children. She is also quite artistic and several of her pieces have won gold medals.
Ashlyn is the daughter of Alan and Kelly Wert and has an older sister, Autumn.
Keiana Gilbert
Keiana , a 5-foot-11 wing, will rejoin her sister Aryanna, a freshman with the Chattanooga women’s basketball team, on the basketball court next season.
After playing two seasons at Lawrence County High School, Keiana transferred to Columbia Central. Last year, along with her sister, she helped lead the Lady Lions to a district championship and an overall record of 29-6. She averaged 15 points and four rebounds per game while averaging four assists, two steals and three blocked shots per game.
At Lawrence County, she helped the Lady Cats to back-to-back district titles and led her team to the state tournament as a sophomore. She is a member of the Columbia Central track and field team.
Keiana is the daughter of Sharon and Herbert Zackery and Henry Gilbert.
Anna Claire Noblit
Anna Claire Noblit, a 5-foot-7 guard, still has one year of high school remaining but is already a well decorated athlete. Last season she was selected the Alabama Sportswriters Association Class 1A Player of the Year, named to the All-State First Team, selected to the All-Area Class 1A-3A Area First Team and was a Wendy’s High School A1 State Finalist.
She averaged 24 points per game with 638 points for the season. She drained a school-record 108 3-pointers as a junior while shooting 81 percent from the free throw line. Her hustle stats included 4.4 assists and 5.3 steals per game. Last season she recorded 143 swipes.
Through three years, Anna Claire is in the AHSAA Alabama State record book for points scored in a career with 2,616, ranking her 24th all-time and counting. She scored the fifth most points in one quarter in Alabama with 21 vs. Decatur Heritage in 2012 and is eighth with 20 points, all in the fourth quarter, against Berry in 2010. Her 387 career long range bombs ranks second in Alabama and is just 68 shy of the state’s all-time record.
In 2012 she was a Top 3 Finalist for the Alabama Player of the Year and All-State First Team member. She was selected to the 2011 All-State Second Team and earned a spot on numerous All-Area and All-Tournament teams. She holds the Covenant Christian school record for most career points (2,616) most points in a season (641) most points in a game (45) most points in a quarter (21) most 3-pointers in a season (108) and most 3-pointers in a game (9). She was named the CCS MVP and served as captain. She was the Best Offensive and Best Defensive Awards for her team and has played varsity since seventh grade.
She was a starter for the Alabama Southern Starz and helped her team to the 2011 ESPN National AAU Super Showcase Showdown in Orlando, Fla. Over the last two years, she was a starter for the Nike’s Flight Alabama Team, a division of the Tennessee Flight.
She carries a 4.12 GPA and was a 2013 Girl’s State Representative. She is a member of the National Honors Society, National Society of High School Scholars and a recipient of the Math Award for highest GPA. She was selected to “Who’s Who Among American High School Students.” Anna Claire is a member of the Student Council, the Key Club and various volunteer and service organizations.
She served as the Shoals Youth Leadership representative for CCS and was chosen to represent her school at the Alabama Youth Leadership Conference.