Alexis Smith, who was rated the No. 22 point guard in the nation coming out of St. John the Baptist HS in 2011 by
ESPN HoopGurlz before going on to play 77 games at the University of Illinois, with 44 starts, is expected to add maturity and experience to the Seahawk lineup as she completes her college eligiblity as a graduate student in 2015-16.
As a junior in 2013-14, the physical and athletic 5-9 Smith averaged 7.0 points, 2.8 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game in 26.8 minutes per game . She led the Illini and ranked 15th in the Big Ten in assists (2.8 per game), ranked 10th in the Big Ten in steals (1.7 spg) in all games and tied for eighth in conference play (1.6)
"Alexis is a natural leader and has been since a very young age," says Cermignano. "She just understands how to lead a team, to bring a team together and compete at a very high level. Alexis is a physical, strong guard. Obviously she was a very good player in the Big 10 but she's a family person and she wanted to come home.
"She is very excited to have this opportunity to play a year in front of all of her family and friends," Cermignano added. "A tremendous athlete, Alexis can get to the rim, shoot the three, and is one of the best defenders that I've recruited in a long time."
As a sophomore in 2012-13, Smith started all 33 games at point guard, averaging 6.4 points, a team-high 5.1 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game in 34.4 minutes per game. She ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 39th nationally in assists per game (5.1), ranked 11th in the Big Ten in steals per game (1.9) and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2:1). In addition, her 168 assists rank third all-time on the Illinois single-season list.
During her freshman season of 2011-12, Smith saw time in 19 games, averaging 5.6 minutes of action per contest. In addition to being rated as the No. 22 point guard in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz following her 2010-11 senior season at St. John the Baptist, Smith was named First Team All-Long Island following the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. She led the Cougars to two Nassau-Suffolk Catholic High School Athletic Association (NSCHSAA) championships. Named Second-Team All-Long Island in 2008-09, a two-time All-Catholic League selection, Smith was also a member of the 2008 CHSAA AA New York State Championship team, a squad that was ranked 13th in the nation by
USA Today
Selected for Town of Islip Academic/Athletic Achievement Award in 2009 and 2011, Smith, who competed on the Exodus AAU club team, was invited to the Metro Classic, Rose Classic and Nike Swoosh All-Star games.
Without a single senior on last year's roster, the 2015-2016 Seahawks will return all five starters, and 10 letterwinners overall, led by rising junior
Jasmine Nwajei, who finished second in the nation in scoring at 24.8 points per game in 2014-2015 while ranking sixth nationally in steals per game (3.28). After being named to both the 2014-2015 Northeast Conference (NEC) First Team and All-Defensive Teams, Nwajei was tabbed to the All Met Division I Women's College Basketball Third Team by the
Met Basketball Writers Association.
In 2014-2015, the Seahawks had one of the nation's youngest rosters, an 11-person unit that featured two juniors, six sophomores and three freshmen that went 7-22 overall and 5-13 in NEC play, capping the season with an impressive 66-60 win at Robert Morris.
