Women's Basketball Announces Full Recruiting Class

First-year head coach Kate Popovec Welcomes Six Newcomers for the 2022-23 Season

Duane Zehr

Bobby Parker, Sr. Associate AD for Communications and Event & Facility Operations Women's Basketball 6/7/2022 1:51:00 PM

PEORIA, IL – The Kate Popovec coaching era for the Bradley Women's Basketball program will start with a roster that includes six new student-athletes, according to an announcement of the full class Tuesday afternoon.

The six-person class includes two true freshmen, two junior college transfers and two NCAA Division I transfers. In addition to November early signees Reagan Barkema (Story City, IA/Roland-Story HS) and Megan Barton (Carbondale, IL/Carterville HS/Rend Lake CC), Popovec and her staff have added four student-athletes this spring: junior guard Ruba Abo Hashesh (Karlstad, Sweden/Iowa Western CC); freshman guard Lucia Llaveria (Sant Vicenç de Montalt, Spain); sophomore guard Alex Rouse (Little Rock, AR/Joe T. Robinson HS/Old Dominion); and junior forward Celia Satter (Glencoe, IL/Loyola Academy/Richmond).

"I'm truly excited to welcome this class to Bradley," said Popovec of the full recruiting class. "We have added a versatile group of athletes to our roster, particularly addressing a strong need to add depth at our guard position. Each student-athlete provides a unique skill set that will help us as we introduce our new matchup defense and look to play up-tempo offensively.

"This class will greatly enhance our culture and locker room with their competitiveness and high character," Popovec added. "Most importantly, all of our signees are tremendous students and will represent our women's basketball program strongly on the court, in the classroom and in the Peoria community."

Ruba Abo Hashesh | Jr. | G | Karlstad, Sweden | Marks Gymnasiekola | Iowa Western CC
A 5-foot-6 guard, Abo Hashesh transfers to Bradley from Iowa Western CC, where she averaged 7.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game during the 2021-22 season, while helping the Reivers to a 22-8 overall record and a spot in the NJCAA Division II Region XI Tournament championship game. A second-team All-Region XI selection, Abo Hashesh also was named to the 2022 Region XI All-Tournament Team, as well as the Region XI Academic All-Region squad.

"We cannot wait to bring Ruba to Peoria," said Popovec. "In her, we found a true floor general, who plays with poise and has the ability to knock down shots. We love her ability to lead her team on the court and feel her experiences at the junior college and international levels add a level of maturity to our unit. Ruba is a tremendous student, as well, who will excel on the court and in the classroom on The Hilltop."

Reagan Barkema | Fr. | G | Story City, IA | Roland-Story HS
A 5-foot-11 guard, Barkema signed with Bradley during the November early-signing period during her senior season at Roland-Story High School. As a senior this past season, Barkema earned Iowa Print Sports Writers Association all-state honors for a fourth consecutive year, collecting first-team honors by averaging 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game while leading Roland-Story to its third state tournament appearance in four years.

"Reagan is a tough-nosed, skilled and highly-competitive athlete," said Popovec. "She has great size at the guard sport, a high IQ and an ability to knock down the perimeter shot. Additionally, I love her ability to rebound and push in transition. Reagan absolutely loves Bradley and I'm so excited she will be joining us in the Class of 2026."

Megan Barton | Jr. | G | Carbondale, IL | Carterville HS | Rend Lake CC
A November signee for the Braves, Barton comes to Bradley with two years of eligibility after playing the previous two seasons at Rend Lake Community College, where the 5-foot-9 guard averaged 14.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game during the 2021-22 season.

"Megan brings length and athleticism to our guard spot," said Popovec. "She's a scoring-minded perimeter threat who can play multiple positions on both ends of the court. I think she will particularly excel as we look to play more in transition. I'm thrilled that she remained signed to Bradley and is so excited to continue her career as a Brave."

Lucia Llaveria | Fr. | G | Sant Vivenç de Montalt, Spain | Sagrat Cor Diputacio
"I am so excited that Lucia has made the commitment to come and play for Bradley," said Popovec. "She's a scoring point guard who has high-level experience playing against great competition in Spain. She will add much-needed depth at our point guard position and will stretch the floor with the ability to shoot, attack the rim and distribute. Her unique experience as an international athlete will greatly enhance our locker room."

Alex Rouse | So. | G | Little Rock, AR | Joe T. Robinson HS | Old Dominion
Rouse joins the Braves with three years of remaining eligibility after starting her collegiate career in 2021-22 at Old Dominion. A three-sport star at Little Rock's Joe T. Robinson High School, Rouse was a prolific scorer on the hardwood, setting the school record with more than 2,000 career points after averaging 25.5 points per game during her senior season. A state champion soccer student-athlete, Rouse also helped the basketball team to a state tournament appearance.

"We are so appreciative that Alex has made the choice to continue her career at Bradley," said Popovec. "In Alex, we have found an athletic scoring punch who will defend at a high level and create opportunities for her and her teammates with her ability to attack the rim. She comes from an athletically competitive family background and greatly values the academic opportunity she will have here at Bradley."

Rouse's father, James, was a running back at Arkansas, who went on to play in 30 games for the Chicago Bears during the 1990 and 1991 seasons.

Celia Satter | Jr. | F | Glencoe, IL | Loyola Academy | Richmond
After graduating from the University of Richmond in May, Satter will join the Braves still with two years of remaining eligibility as she pursues her master's degree at Bradley. While her playing time in three seasons at Richmond was limited by injury, she enjoyed a strong 3-year varsity career at Loyola Academy, helping her team to a 47-16 record and consecutive Illinois Class 4A regional championships.

A third-team IBCA Class 4A All-State selection as a senior in 2018-19, Satter was the MVP of the 2019 Illinois All-Star Game. The 6-foot forward drained 135 3-point field goals and scoring more than 800 points in her 3-year varsity career.

"I'm thrilled to welcome Celia to our family," said Popovec. "Her length and ability to stretch the floor will help us on the court and her experiences as a player in a high-level collegiate program at Richmond will benefit our locker room. I've known Celia and her family for some time and I know Celia will represent Bradley at the highest level as a student and athlete."

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