Staten Island, NY - Taylor Butigian, a 6-1 forward from nationally-renowned Christ the King High School in Middle Village, NY, has signed a national letter of intent to attend Wagner College and play for head coach Lisa Cermignano.
 
Butigian, who will be a freshman on Grymes Hill in September, was an aggressive and physical presence in the low post for the Royals who also developed into a dangerous perimeter threat as her career progressed. As a senior, the Rockaway, NY native averaged 9.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game.
 
The ability to hit outside shots consistently, including three-pointers, has helped magnify her strength of attacking the basket off the dribble and scoring on put-backs in the paint. This combination of skills allowed her to tally a season-high 19 points vs. Moore Catholic of Staten Island.
 
“Taylor is a tough, fearless competitor who goes after every loose ball, every rebound and is a flat-out winner,” said Cermignano. “She will provide us with a level of physicality needed to win and has played for one of the most storied and tradition-rich high school programs in the nation – and that's huge. Taylor just has a really good overall feel for the game and understands where to be at the right time.”
 
The past few summers, Butigian further honed her skills while playing for the competitive New York City Lady Warriors AAU Club Team.  
 
“What attracted me the most to Wagner was the coaching staff,” said Butigian. “I went to two Wagner games this season and I just really like the way they coach. You can tell that Coach Cermignano is a really good coach just in the way that she explains things. And she's very encouraging.”
 
Christ the King churns out Division I players with regularity and is a program that has produced such luminaries as former UConn stars and current WNBA players Sue Bird and Tina Charles, in addition to former Tennessee standout and former WNBA star Chamique Holdsclaw.
 
The Seahawks' recruiting class now has six members as Butigian joins a highly-regarded quintet who signed with Wagner in the fall:  5-9 guard Maria Conyers-Jordan  (Philadelphia,  PA/ Friends' Central ), 5-11 forward Jackie Dluhi (Middletown, NJ/ Middletown South), 5-8 guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/ Murry Bergtraum),  5-8 guard Lyndsay Rowe (South River, NJ/ St. John Vianney) and 6-3 forward Shakila Small (Brooklyn, NY/ Medgar Evers Prep).