Jan. 8, 2008

NEWARK, NJ - Ivana Seric, a 6-foot-2 wing/post player from Croatia, and Shannon Seager, a 6-foot-3 center from Waverly, NY, are the first two recruits for NJIT women's basketball coach Margaret McKeon.

Seric, an international player for Croatia, has enrolled at NJIT as a mathematics major and is expected to be in the starting lineup when the Highlanders visit Texas-Pan American on Wednesday night. Seager, a high school senior, will begin classes at NJIT in the fall of 2008.

McKeon, who assumed the head coaching duties at NJIT in July 2007, is excited about her first two recruits for the Highlanders.

"Each of these young women will be a great addition to the team," said the coach. "Ivana, highly skilled in fundamentals, can score inside and out, and brings a European style and great work ethic to our program.

"Shannon is a powerful, fundamentally sound shot blocker with both defensive and offensive presence, inside and out. Their energy will make the other players better."

Seric, a member of Croatia's national U18 team, competed for her country in the 2004-05 U16 European championships and in the 2005-06 U18 European championships.

Seager, who is in her final season at Waverly (NY) High School upstate just above the New York/Pennsylvania border and between Binghamton to the east and Elmira to the west, is an excellent student-athlete, excelling on the basketball court while ranking in the top 10 percent of her class academically.

As a junior, she blocked a school-record 140 shots (better than 6 per game) and averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds per game, earning numerous postseason honors, including all-Tioga County, all-metro, all-region (Sunday Review) and Defensive Player of the Year (Morning Times).

As of December 30, 2007, Waverly was ranked 14th in New York state among Class A schools after posting a 20-3 record last season. Her team won its 2006-07 conference championship by defeating the eventual Class C state champions. Her AAU team is the Elmira Lady Express.

The Star-Gazette of Elmira reported that Seager chose to sign a National Letter of Intent with NJIT over offers from two established Division I programs from Maryland, Loyola and Mount Saint Mary's. Seager told the Star-Gazette that NJIT presented the best fit academically as well as athletically, and she welcomed the opportunity to play basketball under the guidance of Coach McKeon.