Black Hills State women's soccer and Head Coach Andrew Conniff has announced the signing of seven newcomers for the 2023 Fall season.

The signing class consists of three out of Colorado, two from Wyoming, and one each from South Dakota and Iowa.

Makaiah Carlson
From Centennial, Colo., Carlson went to Arapahoe High School where she has been team captain and Team MVP and helped her team win the presidents cup in 2021. Last season, she totaled a goal and three assists over 15 games, including a pair of playoff games.

"Kaiah plays with an incredible physicality and competitive mentality," said Conniff. "The RMAC is a very physically challenging conference and Kaiah will help us to be more competitive in the middle of the field. She has the ability to play as a center mid, but she is most comfortable at center back. Kaiah has a confidence and boldness that will positively impact our program's culture."

Ella Cornelius
Cornelius is from Thornton, Colo. where she played soccer at Riverdale Ridge High School and the Broomfield Soccer Club. She has been a team captain of her high school squad the last three seasons and has been named First Team All-Conference and Academic All-State.

"Ella comes from the same club program and coach as one of our current players, Leah Day," Conniff added. "Ella performed incredibly well training with our team and is the type of positive personality we want to have here. Ella really stood out with the energy she plays with and how much ground she covers, which is exactly what we want to get out of our midfielders. I believe her best role is as a box-to-box center mid."

Kylie Hayes
Hayes has put together an incredible high school career at Thunder Basin H.S. and has also played with the Gillette Edge SC club program.

"Kylie is the other 'local' player in this 2023 class, coming from Gillette, Wyoming," said Conniff. "Kylie is the first player from Gillette on the roster in my time here which is extremely exciting for our program because Gillette Edge soccer has done an incredible job of producing high-level soccer players. Kylie played in a scrimmage against us this past fall and absolutely shined. She is technically gifted, aggressive off the ball, and plays at pace. Kylie will likely play on the wing or as a forward, but has the ability to do much more, and hopefully will be someone creating and scoring goals."

Paige Hill
Hill is out of Casper, Wyo. where she went to Kelly Walsh High School before playing at Laramie Country CC. In high school she was a team captain in her senior year and was twice named First Team All-State. With her club team, High Plains, her team finished third at nationals.

"Paige just joined our program this winter semester, and it's been great to see how the team has accepted her so quickly," said Conniff. "Paige is a very high-level athlete and competitor which will allow her to contribute in several different positions. She has great experience from LCCC where she was a big part of a team that qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament. This spring will be an exciting time for Paige to grow her role within this program and for us to see how to best utilize her on the field."

Audrey Sillanpaa
Sillanpaa was named honor roll all four years in her time at Freedom Project Academy, and also played with the Black Hills Rapids and Mount Rainier Football Club.

"Audrey is one of two 'local' players we have in our 2023 class," said Conniff. "Bringing in top talent from around the Black Hills is extremely important to our success. Audrey recently moved to the area from Washington where she had a very quality club soccer experience. Audrey is very quick and technical and will likely be playing on the wing for us."

Braelyn Thomas
Out of Gilbert, Iowa, Thomas is a goalkeeper who played at Gilbert High School as well as with Sporting Iowa and Ames Soccer Club.

"We are incredibly fortunate to have a goalkeeper of Braelyn's ability coming into our program," Conniff said. "Goalkeeper is such a unique position, and many players want a guarantee of playing time; which is not the case here as we have an All-RMAC Goalkeeper in Makayla Dannelly. Braelyn has a great competitive mentality and stood out at our camp and in coming back to train with our team. She makes incredible reaction saves and is great with the ball at her feet. Braelyn may be one of the quickest goalkeepers I have seen and her aggression makes her so fun to watch."

Kayla Truong
Truong is from Englewood, Colo. where she played at Heritage High School and with Rapids ECNL and SIQ Academy. She has earned several player of the game honors during her time in high school and totaled four goals. Truong was a captain of her club teams, and also played for Espanol Youth Girls in 2018 and 2019.

Kayla is such a high-level talent. She brings a ton of quality with the ball at her feet and can challenge the opposition off of the dribble, with her passing quality, and her shooting range. We need to be better at creating scoring chances off of set pieces and Kayla is a player who can provide quality service off of free kicks and corners. Kayla has the versatility to play a variety of positions, but I anticipate her playing as an attacking center-midfielder or as a wing.