WBB: Wiscoñsin sigñs duo from España iñ 2025 recruitiñg class

Plus: a brief analysis of the rest of the Big Ten's recruiting classes!

On Friday, the Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team officially announced the signing of two 2025 recruits. Inés García Monje and Leyre Urdiáin Esperanza, both of Spain, will be joining Marisa Moseley’s squad next season as freshmen. They have previously been teammates on Spain’s U-17 FIBA World Cup bronze medal winning side this past summer.

They will join current freshman, point guard Alba Martin Mesa, as the second and third Spaniards on UW’s roster. You may remember that Wisconsin would’ve had a fourth Spanish national on the team, but Ana Guillen transferred to Yale after last season.

Here is a quick overview of each player:

Inés García Monje

• Height: 6-foot-2

• Position: forward (probably more “power” than “small”)

• Hometown: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

• Club Team: Segle XXI (Barcelona, Spain) in Spain-LF2

• Well, would you look at that! A full scouting report on Garcia Monje? Written by me?? Back in September???

• Moseley’s statement: "We are thrilled to welcome Inés García Monje to Madison. The 6-foot-2 forward from Santa Cruz de Tenerife brings her versatility, skill, and competitive nature to our program. Inés' ability to stretch the floor, combined with her high basketball IQ, will make her a matchup nightmare in the Big Ten. In addition to her incredible court vision and passing ability, Inés is also a dominant rebounder. Her high motor and ability to push the ball coast-to-coast are perfect fits for our program. I have no doubt Badger fans will fall in love with her game. Please help me welcome Inés and her family to the Badger family!"

• García Monje’s statement: "I chose Wisconsin because of its strong academic programs, the team's commitment to excellence, and the opportunity to compete at the highest level. I'm excited to join a program that values both athletics and academics. I look forward to growing as a player and person, while contributing to the team's success."

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Leyre Urdiáin Esperanza

• Height: 6-foot-0 (5-foot-11? Both heights are mentioned lol)

• Position: shooting guard

• Hometown: Zaragoza, Spain

• Club Team: Casademont Zaragoza (Zaragoza, Spain) in Liga Femenina (top tier of Spanish women’s basketball)

• Sadly I do not have a handy scouting report done for Urdiáin Esperanza already, so we’ll remedy that in a moment.

• Moseley’s statement: "We are ecstatic to welcome Leyre to the Badger family. The 5-foot-11 guard from Zaragoza possesses a unique combination of size, skill, and basketball IQ. She's a three-level scorer who is a major threat from anywhere on the court. Her international experience has undoubtedly prepared her to make an immediate impact. I'm confident that Leyre will be a valuable asset for years to come in our team's fast-paced style of play. I can't wait for Badger Nation to see her take center stage. Please join me in welcoming Leyre and her family to Madison!"

• Urdiáin Esperanza’s statement: "I chose Wisconsin because I believe it will be the perfect place for me to grow, both as an athlete and as a person. The team's commitment to excellence, combined with the strong academic programs, really stood out to me. I'm excited to join a program with such a rich tradition and contribute to the success of the team."

Leyre Urdiáin Esperanza Stats (2024 U17 World Cup)

• 21.2 minutes per game (seven games)

• 8.1 points per game

• 4.9 rebounds per game (1.1 off. rebounds per game)

• 2.0 assists per game

• 1.3 steals per game

• 1.4 blocks per game

• 1.3 turnovers per game

• FG: 23-of-65, 35.4%

• 3P: 9-of-38, 23.7%

• FT: 2-of-4, 50.0%

• Spain won the bronze medal in this tournament and Urdiáin Esperanza saved her best performance for last. In the bronze medal game, she dropped 14 points, pulled down nine boards, and dished out a pair of assists in 31 minutes.

Leyre Urdiáin Esperanza (2024-25 Liga Feminina Season)

• 6.2 minutes per game (12 games)

• 1.9 points per game

• 0.2 rebounds per game

• 0.2 assists per game

• 0.1 steals per game

• no blocks

• 0.3 turnovers per game

• FG: 9-of-17, 52.9%

• 3P: 5-of-11, 45.5%

• FT: N/A

Casademont Zaragoza has a “junior” team that I’m assuming Urdiáin Esperanza played on, but I could not find any stats for those games. However, it is an extremely good sign that she was getting run with the senior team already, no matter how few minutes it was.

She was the youngest member of the 2023 Queen’s Cup (big deal domestic tournament) championship team, the first ever Queen’s Cup triumph in Zaragoza’s history, and was also on the 2024 team that reached the finals of the Queen’s Cup but fell short to Valencia. That is valuable professional experience right there. The best player on her team? German national team player, and current WNBA Champion, Leonie Fiebich who is coming off her first season in the WNBA where she was named to the All-Rookie Team. Minnesota Lynx star Bridget Carleton was the best player on their opposition, so yeah…some good ball being played there.

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The highlights aren’t bountiful in number, but they still show a player who can shoot the rock from beyond the arc. Based on the limited stats I could find, she appears to be a player in the mold of Tess Myers or Lily Krahn aka a healthy portion of her shot diet will be three point attempts.

I don’t feel confident speaking on any other part of her game because I quite literally haven’t seen any other part. However, there is always room on the Badgers for shooters that have high-level professional experience before the age of 18.

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As a conference, the Big Ten ended up with 10 of the top-50 and 25 of the top-100 high school prospects in the country. Technically B1G teams are still in the running for the only two top-100 players (No. 1 Aaliyah Chavez and No. 4 Agot Makeer) as UCLA is one of five finalists for Chavez and Michigan State is one of six finalists for Makeer. However, nothing I’ve seen online leads me to believe that either Big Ten team will win their respective races.

With that being said, here is the list of the top recruits in the Big Ten for the 2025 class.

Big Ten Players in the On3 Industry Top-50

• No. 2, 5-star, Jazzy Davidson; Happy Valley, Ore.; 6-foot-1 CG; Southern Cal

• No. 3, 5-star, Sienna Betts; Aurora, Colo.; 6-foot-4 PF; UCLA

• No. 15, 4-star, Addie Deal; Ladera Ranch, Calif.; 6-foot-0 SG; Iowa

• No. 22, 4-star, Brynn McGaughy; Colfax, Wash.; 6-foot-3 PF; Washington

• No. 28, 4-star, Destiny Jackson; Chicago; 5-foot-6 PG; Illinois

• No. 33, 4-star, Rainey Welson; Hortonville, Wis.; 6-foot-0 SG; Maryland

• No. 34, 4-star, McKenzie Mathurin; Broken Arrow, Okla.; 5-foot-10 SG; Michigan

• No. 41, 4-star, Jordan Ode; Osseo, Minn.; 5-foot-11 SG; Michigan State

• No. 42, 4-star, Maya Makalusky; Fishers, Ind.; 6-foot-3 SF; Indiana

• No. 43, 4-star, Cearah Parchment; Fort Erie, Ont., Canada; 6-foot-2 PF; Illinois

Big Ten Players in the espnW 51-100 (because On3 stops at 50)

• No. 52, 4-star, Makena Christian; Hartford, Wis.; 5-foot-11 CG; Minnesota

• No. 53, 4-star, Janiyah Williams; Edmond, Okla.; 5-foot-10 CG; Oregon

• No. 58, 4-star, Avery Gordon; Brownsburg, Ind.; 6-foot-5 C; Purdue

• No. 61, 4-star, Manuella Alves-Fernandez; Rio de Janeiro (IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.); 6-foot-3 PF; Illinois

• No. 65, 4-star, Ciara Byars; Winchester, Ky.; 6-foot-2 PF; Michigan

• No. 67, 4-star, Nevaeh Caffey; Normandy, Mo.; 5-foot-10 PG; Indiana

• No. 68, 4-star, Brynleigh Martin; Springboro, Ohio; 6-foot-0 SG; Washington

• No. 70, 4-star, Layla Hays; Wasilla, Alaska; 6-foot-4 PF; Iowa

• No. 71, 4-star, Nina Cain; Sacramento; 6-foot-1 SF; Washington

• No. 74, 4-star, Daria Biriuk; Berdiansk, Ukraine (The Webb School, Bell Buckle, Tenn.); 6-foot-1 SG, Ohio State

• No. 85, 4-star, Journey Houston; Davenport, Iowa; 5-foot-11 SG; Iowa

• No. 89, 4-star, Amy Terrian; Pewaukee, Wis.; 5-foot-8 PG; Michigan State

• No. 98, 4-star, Naomi Benson; Streetsboro, Ohio; 6-foot-2 SF; Illinois

• No. 99, 4-star, Jessica Fields; Kennesaw, Ga.; 6-foot-1 SF; Michigan

• No. 100, 4-star, Addison Mack; Minneapolis; 5-foot-9 PG; Maryland

Breaking it down by team:

• Illinois: 4

• Iowa, Michigan, Washington: 3

• Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State: 2

• Minnesota, Ohio State, Oregon, Purdue, Southern Cal, UCLA: 1

• Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers, Wisconsin: 0

It can be tough to rank recruiting classes in basketball because the size of each one varies wildly from school to school. For instance, the two California schools only signed one player each…but they were both in the top-three nationally.

So, like, I wouldn’t rank Southern Cal or UCLA as one of the top-10 classes in the country since they only have one-woman classes, but they signed two of the best players in the country and they could have instant impacts. It’s important to look at the classes in relation to the previous ones too, since both California schools signed large 2024 groups and didn’t need to sign more than one player in 2025.

All that being said, you have to be really impressed with the four-woman group that Shauna Green is bringing in at Illinois. It’s basically a full lineup of 4-stars that will be able to (hopefully) grow together and develop into a potent group.

Iowa and Washington each nabbed a top-25 player in their respective three-woman classes and I like Maryland’s addition of Rainey Welson out of Wisconsin. There are actually three players from the state of Wisconsin in the top-100 that will be playing in the Big Ten, but none of them will be doing it for the hometown school.

A post could be written about Wisconsin’s in-state recruiting issues alongside their vigorous international recruiting efforts and what that says about the team, the coaching staff, and Wisconsin high school basketball. I should look into that!

Anyways, there’s your 2025 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Recruiting Roundup. If you enjoyed it you should tell your friends about this newsletter. If you didn’t enjoy it, please tell your enemies.