MOSCOW, Idaho – Head coach Arthur Moreira added five transfers and one international freshman signee to the 2024-25 roster in the weeks leading up to his official announcement. This group brings in plenty of experience featuring one graduate transfer, three juniors, and one redshirt sophomore.
Rosie Schweizer | 6'1" | Forward | Pacific | Canberra, Australia
Rosie Schweizer joins the Vandals after four seasons at Pacific. She heads to Idaho to complete her final year of eligibility.
"I am super excited to add Rosie to our program," said Moreira. "I competed against her for 3 years in the WCC and have always been impressed by her combination of size, skill, and basketball IQ. Her ability to post up and finish around the rim and also stretch out the floor to shoot the 3 makes her very versatile and hard to guard. She is one of the best passing forwards I have come across and that will also help facilitate our offense. I cannot wait to coach her this season!"
As a redshirt senior, Schweizer appeared in 31 games and made four starts. She averaged 44.7% shooting from the field and 60.6% from the charity stripe. Schweizer ended the season ranked second on the team with a three-point shooting percentage of 40%. She was dominant on the boards, ranking second on the team with 37 offensive rebounds. Schweizer is also a threat in academics, being named to the CSC Academic All-District Team and the WCC All-Academic First Team.
Schweizer's redshirt junior season was capped off by being named a DI 1AAA – Athletic Director Association National Scholar-Athlete. The distinction is only awarded to 11 women's basketball players at the Division I level. She led the Tigers with a 47.7% shooting accuracy from the field and averaged 12.2 points over a six-game stretch. She recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds against San Diego.
Schweizer came off the bench for every game in her redshirt sophomore and freshman seasons. She comes to Idaho with career totals of 434 points, 306 rebounds, 17 blocks, and 64 assists. Her overall shooting percentage from the field is 42.6% (169-397).
Kelbie Washington | 5'7" | Guard | Oklahoma | Norman, Okla.
Kelbie Washington signed on to become a Vandal after one full season at Oklahoma. The Norman, Okla. native has three seasons of eligibility as a redshirt sophomore.
"We are thrilled to have Kelbie join our program," said Moreira. "She is already a very accomplished player, breaking many records during her time as the starting point guard for an OU team that was ranked nationally. She impacts the game on both sides of the floor and is the ultimate competitor. She has won 3 state championships and is ready to bring that championship culture to the Vandals!"
Washington shined in her home state competing for the Big 12 team as a true freshman. Washington played in every game and made 16 starts, averaging 6.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 3.7 APG. She led the team with 116 assists, marking the fourth-most as a freshman in OU history. She set a freshman single-game program record with 14 assists vs. Wichita State. She tallied in double-figure points in seven games featuring a career-high 17 points vs. West Virginia. She was fierce on defense as well, totaling 48 steals. Washington was selected to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team and was also named the USBWA National Freshman of the Week and two-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week.
Washington was a four-star recruit and ranked No. 66 nationally by ESPN coming out of high school. She was also listed as the No. 10 guard in the 2021 class. Washington led Norman High School to back-to-back Oklahoma 6A state championships averaging 13 points, 4.2 steals, 4.1 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Anja Bukvic | 5'10" | Guard | Louisiana Tech | Belgrade, Serbia
Bukvic heads to the northwest after two seasons at Louisiana Tech. Hailing from Belgrade, Serbia, Bukvic will enter as a junior for the Vandals.
"Anja will be an amazing fit for our program," said Moreira. "She has a ton of experience with her national team and has played at a high level of college basketball for the last two seasons. She is extremely competitive and very skilled, being able to score at all three levels and can also create for her teammates. Passing is a skill that is extremely important to our staff so recruiting good passers will be a common theme with our signees!"
Bukvic appeared in 29 games with three starts for the Lady Techsters in the 2023-24 season. Her sophomore campaign saw 135 points, 58 rebounds, and 43 assists. Bukvic scored a career-high 18 points at New Mexico State and recorded four games in double-digit scoring.
Her freshman season was a building year, appearing in 11 games during the season. She shot 50% from the floor and 87.5% from the free-throw line. Bukvic and the Lady Techsters competed in the WNIT tournament where she dished out an assist against Arkansas.
In high school, Bukvic competed at the highest level of women's basketball in Serbia in the First Serbia League. Her club team, Partizan, won gold at the U16 League of Serbia in 2018 where Bukvic averaged 12 points, six rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. She has experience on the international level representing Serbia at the 2022 U20 European Championships in Sopron, Hungary.
Catelyn Deaver | 6'0" | Forward | Utah Tech | Sumner, Wash.
Deaver is another transfer for Idaho who will join the Vandals with two years of eligibility remaining. She was a starter for Utah Tech and will be a valuable addition to Idaho.
"Cate is the definition of toughness," said Moreira. "She plays hard and competes every single minute she is on the court. She can defend multiple positions and can score both inside and out. She will elevate our team's competitiveness and already brings a lot of experience after starting for a very good Utah Tech team this past season. I am thrilled to have her join our Vandal family!"
Deaver made an appearance in every game for the Trailblazers in the 2023-24 season featuring 19 starts. She totaled 776 minutes on the court with an average of 23.2 per game. Deaver scored 118 points, grabbed 119 rebounds, earned 25 assists, 17 blocks, and 18 steals on the season. She recorded a career-high 14 points versus Utah Valley, going 5-8 from the field. Deaver led the Trailblazers with 17 blocks in the season. In her freshman campaign, Deaver saw action in 11 games.
Deaver played high school ball at Sumner HS, where she was named a two-time all-league selection and helped her team to a league title in the 2021 season. Basketball runs in her blood as her father, Craig Deaver played college ball at Seattle U and she was formerly teammates with her twin sister, Alyson at Utah Tech.
Mackenzie Curtis | 5'10" | Guard | New Mexico | Lakeside, Calif.
Mackenzie Curtis joins the Vandals after three seasons at New Mexico. Curtis enters as a redshirt junior after taking a redshirt year in her second season.
"Mackenzie is one of the most successful scorers in California High School basketball," said Moreira. "I have known Mackenzie and her family for a while, and they are all about the right things. She is an incredible leader and a very talented basketball player, being able to score in a number of different ways and play multiple positions on the floor. We are very excited to have Mackenzie wearing black and gold again!"
Curtis saw action in 11 games for the Lobos in the 2023-24 season. She scored a season-high 11 points against Hampton featuring nine points from three-pointers. In her freshman season, Curtis appeared in 21 games, averaging 5.9 minutes per game. She scored a career-high 12 points against Northern New Mexico, once again featuring three, three-pointers. Curtis received a nod from the Mountain West for her academic efforts and was named to the Academic All-MW Team.
Curtis had great success at the high school level, standing as the No. 1 scorer in San Diego for two years and No. 3 overall in the California 2021 prep class. Curtis was crowned four-time team MVP, three-time league MVP, four-time San Diego Union Tribune Scholar-Athlete, and three-time WBCA National Player of the Week and was named to the So-Cal Holiday Prep Classic All-Tournament Team. She helped lead her squad to the league championship in 2018 and was named to the First-Team All-CIF in 2020 and Second Team in 2019.
Ana Pinheiro | 6'0" | Guard | Braga, Portugal
Ana Pinheiro stands as the lone freshman addition in this batch of signees. Pinheiro hails from Braga, Portugal, and has experience competing at the youth international level.
"Ana will be a very exciting player for the Vandals fans to follow," said Moreira. "She is young but already extremely experienced having played over 30 minutes per game this season in a team full of pros and former mid-major stars. She brings great size and length to the wing spot at 6'1 and is a very good defender. This season she was tasked with defending the best players on the opposing teams. We are very excited Ana is a Vandal!"
Pinheiro has competed for the Portugal youth national team from 2021-23. She has been a participant in tournaments such as the FIBA U16 European Challengers, FIBA U18 European Championships Division B, and the FIBA U18 European Championship. Pinheiro averaged 6.3 ppg on the national circuit with 5.5 rebounds per game. At the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championship, she scored a high of 12 points vs Lithuania and had an eight-board game vs Belgium where the team finished 15th overall.
The team is not quite complete yet, stay tuned for further announcements.
