MOSCOW, Idaho – Coach Eighmey announced the 23-2024 signee class following the initial National Letter of Intent day on November 8th. Ella Uriarte and Karly Jusczak will join the Vandal women's basketball program in the fall while Ana Beatriz Passos will arrive in Moscow this spring.

Ella Uriarte | 5'8" | Point Guard | Folsom, California

Ella Uriarte is a right-handed point guard/shooting guard hailing from Folsom, California. She competed for the Folsom High School Bulldogs and on Jason Kidd Select during her high school years.

"We are thrilled Ella has signed on to be a Vandal," said Coach Eighmey. "She is a flat-out competitor on both ends of the floor. She's a sniper from the 3-point line, which makes her a dynamic scoring point guard, and she wreaks havoc on the defensive end. Her leadership is something we look for in point guards and we're excited to see her in the ICCU Arena!"

At Folsom HS, Uriarte was a four-year letter winner and two-time captain of a conference-leading team. During her sophomore season, she was awarded the CIF Sportsmanship Award and named to the Oakridge Tournament All-Tournament Team and the Sierra Foothill All-League Team. 

The following year, she repeated the sportsmanship award. She also earned a spot on the Sac-Joaquin Section Second Team and the Sierra Foothill League First Team. Uriarte was dubbed Defensive Player of the Year by her high school and was named a Nike TOC and Folsom/Vista Winter Classic All-Tournament Player. The team went on to Sections in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons and advanced to the state playoffs this past season. She also competed on the track team during her four years. 

In the club realm, Uriarte competed last season with Jason Kidd Select, preceded by Team Taurasi in 2022 and CalStars 2020-21. On Jason Kidd Select, Uriarte's team won the Select 40 in 2023. 

In her free time, Uriarte loves to do outdoor sports, especially wake surfing, and snowboarding, and loves to travel. Her parents are Tiffany Mecum and Earl Uriarte and she has three older siblings, Mason (21), Hunter (22), and Lauren (24)

Karly Jusczak | 6'1" | Forward | Pine City, Minnesota

The Minnesota native followed her previous commitment to Coach Eighmey at UNK to the Division I level in Idaho. The right-handed forward played for the Pine City High School Dragons and North Tartan Girls Basketball.

"We are super excited about Karly's future as a Vandal," said Coach Eighmey. "She brings a toughness and competitiveness that will be really valuable to our team. Her length and athleticism as well as her ability to score it at multiple levels makes her a tough matchup. Vandal fans are going to be glad she's in black and gold!"

In the state of Minnesota, students can start playing at the high school varsity level when they are in junior high. Due to that reason, Jusczak has five seasons of high school ball under her belt. She was part of a team that was crowned the Great River Conference 2A champions for four straight seasons from 2019-23. Jusczak was dubbed an All-Conference First Team honoree for three straight seasons (2020-23). In her sophomore season, she earned All-Section First Team and was honored as the conference MVP. The following year she earned another All-Section First Team honor. In the current season, she was identified by MN Breakdown Sports as an Elite Girls BB Player. She holds the school record for total rebounds in the season with 342 during the 2022-23 season. The captain finished her junior season with 1,270 points, 786 rebounds, and 215 assists with even more to come as she finishes her senior year. 

Jusczak was also a four-year letterwinner on the volleyball team where she was named All-Conference First Team for three straight seasons (2021-23). The dual athlete has registered 506 career kills with a 90% serve percentage.

On the club level, Jusczak has taken her team to the 2021 Upper Midwest Region NEYC Championship, winning the whole thing. They were also crowned the MN U15 State Champions. In 2022, the team earned gold at the TOC Mexico City Division Championships and won the MN U17 State Championships the following year. 

Jusczak comes from an athletic family following in the footsteps of her three older brothers, Kole (25), Konnor (21), and Kameron (20). Her parents are Kim and Kerry Jusczak. Jusczak also has a cousin, Derek Stephan who has been competing in the NHL since 2011.

Ana Beatriz Passos | 5'11" | Guard | São Paulo, Brazil

The Brazilian will join the Vandals this spring following her high school graduation in December. Passos adds another international tie to the Vandal squad, playing for the Brazilian federation at multiple FIBA tournaments.

"We are so glad Ana is a Vandal," said Coach Eighmey. "She will join us at semester and have an immediate opportunity to build relationships with our team. She is an incredible athlete who is explosive to the rim, a threat behind the 3-point line, and a monster on the glass. We can't wait for her to be in a Vandal uniform!"

Ana Beatriz has been a staple on the Brazilian youth lineup for the past three years. She started off competing for Brazil at the 2021 FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship. At this tournament, she averaged 10.7 points per game, going 25-57 (42.1%) from the field, and 16-27 (59.3%) from the line. She was a beast on the board, collecting 74 total rebounds (41 offensive and 33 defensive) and averaging 12.3 per game. She recorded a double-double in the group phase vs. Puerto Rico with a high of 23 points and 22 rebounds. The team finished sixth in the tournament.

The following year, she competed at the 2022 South American U18 Women's Championship where Brazil brought home gold. Passos scored 7.8 points per game, going 16-52 (30.8%) from the field. She collected 68 total rebounds (17 offensive and 51 defensive) averaging 11.3 per game. She grabbed 13 steals and earned back-to-back double-doubles in group stages. The first double-double was earned against Bolivia with 10 points and 15 rebounds. The second came against Argentina with her tournament-high of 14 points and 10 rebounds. 

Later that year, the team returned to the FIBA U18 Americas Championship. Passos averaged 28.4 minutes per game scoring 9 points per game and grabbing 10.2 rebounds per game. She collected a total of 61 rebounds, 20 offensive and 41 defensive. She recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds vs. Argentina in the group phase. Passos scored her tournament-high of 18 points vs Mexico as well in the group phase. Brazil finished fourth in the tournament. 

This past summer, Passos joined our associate head coach, Arthur Moreira at the 2023 FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup. Passos averaged 10.4 points per game, going 16-19 (84.2%) from the free throw line. She got plenty of minutes, averaging 28.4 per game. She scored in double digits in four of the seven games played where she scored 13 twice, once vs Japan in the group stage and secondly against Australia in the consolation bracket. The team finished 14th overall. 

Passos also competed in track, volleyball, and handball in high school. She has three brothers, Gabriel, Lucas, Thiago, and Filipe. Her parents are Alexsandra Passos and Cleiton Vicente Alves da Silva.