From K-State Athletics
Kansas State women’s soccer head coach Mike Dibbini has signed six student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the November signing period. The six signees will join the Wildcat roster for the 2019 season.
The six student-athletes that will compete for the program in its fourth season are: Kenzie Applegate (Coweta, Oklahoma), Jenna Brown (Claremore, Oklahoma), Cameron Illingworth (Santa Ana, California), Carly McConville (Newbury Park, California), Caylee Thornhill (Lenexa, Kansas) and Shae Turner (Kansas City, Missouri).
Applegate joins the Wildcats from Coweta High School. A defender for the Tigers, Applegate is a two-time selection to the Tulsa World Herald All-World Team including a second team honor in 2018.
During her previous two seasons with Coweta, Applegate has piled up 44 goals and 29 assists while also serving as the team captain. In the 2017 season, Applegate registered 22 goals and 19 assists in aiding Coweta to a 12-3 record and Class 5A state quarterfinal appearance. She also collected the Golden Boot Award at the Stillwater Cup Tournament.
Applegate also played for the TSC Hurricane and helped the program qualify for a pair of Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) Champion League events.
Brown comes to K-State from Claremore High School as a forward. As a freshman in 2016, Brown was named the Tulsa World Herald All-Metro Player of the Year and the VYPE Northeast Oklahoma Player of the Year after scoring 19 goals and leading the Zebras to their first Class 5A state title.
Following the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Brown was again named to Tulsa World Herald All-World Teams earning honorable mention honors in 2017 while helping Claremore to a Class 5A state runner-up finish and second team honors in 2018 following a third straight district title.
Entering her senior season with Claremore, Brown has amassed 60 career goals and is a member of the TopDrawerSoccer.com Spring 2018 High School All-America Watch List.
Illingworth joins the Wildcats as a goalkeeper from Villa Park High School. Illingworth also backstopped her club team, So Cal Blues SC. With Villa Park High School, Illingworth helped the program to a second round appearance in the 2015 California Interscholastic Federation tournament.
Illingworth is also a letterwinner in volleyball and track and field. She helped the Villa Park track team to the 2018 Crestview League title in the long jump and high jump.
McConville is a forward from Newbury Park High School. McConville played her freshman season for the Panthers and paced the team in assists and was second in goals. She then transitioned to her club team, Eagles SC in Camarillo, California.
Thornhill is a midfielder for St. James Academy and her club teams Sporting Blue Valley and KC Athletics. Thornhill is teammate of fellow K-State signee, Shae Turner, with Sporting Blue Valley and KC Athletics. Thornhill is a TopDrawerSoccer.com IMG 150 regionally ranked player.
In the 2016 season with Sporting Blue Valley, Thornhill registered 15 goals and 22 assists in 24 games played.
In 2018 with KC Athletics, she carded four goals and eight assists in eight games played.
As a four-year letterwinner with St. James Academy, Thornhill was a 2017 All-Eastern Kansas League honorable mention selection as she registered a combined nine goals and 10 assists in her freshman and sophomore seasons.
Turner was a midfielder with Liberty High School for two seasons before transitioning to a full-time role with Sporting Blue Valley. Turner is teammate of fellow K-State signee, Caylee Thornhill, with Sporting Blue Valley and KC Athletics.
In her two seasons at Liberty, Turner notched 26 goals and 26 assists. She was a two-time All-Red Suburban North selection and was named the league’s defensive player of the year in 2017.
Kansas State concluded its third season of action and its second in the Big 12 in 2018 with an overall record of 4-12-2. K-State set school records for total shots (236) and shots on goal (107) in a season and tied the school record for home wins with three.
The Wildcats were led in scoring during the 2018 season by junior Katie Cramer with seven points (two goals and three assists), while sophomore Brookelynn Entz trailed Cramer with six points (two goals and two assists).
K-State will begin play in 2019 at Buser Family Park, following its construction this winter and spring. Season ticket information for the 2019 season will be distributed in the spring.
