Jasmine Forcadilla, the 5'8 guard out of Terrigal, NSW, has committed to Saint Mary's College of California, continuing the growing Australian pipeline at the Moraga university.

Jasmine Forcadilla | Photo credit: Basketball Australia/Kangaroo Photos

Forcadilla was a key member of last year's Australian U17 Women's squad, helping them to a 5th place finish at the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women in the Czech Republic - averaging 6 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 1.3 apg.

Continuing the trend of Aussie sharpshooters at Saint Mary's, Forcadilla spoke about the Australian pipeline, as well as the high standard of play as big factors in her decision.

The campus itself is gorgeous and with all of the Aussies there, it just felt like an extension of home. The calibre of players at Saint Mary's made my decision easy. It's an honour to be offered a scholarship to join such a great program.

With the University of Maine, New Mexico State and Illinois all heavily recruiting Forcadilla, Saint Mary's was a relative newcomer - with the folks at Activ8 Game getting the school involved in her recruitment.

The recruiting process was quick and easy. Coach [Paul] Thomas called me up about a month ago and was legitimate about recruiting me. I did some research and asked around about Saint Mary's and I heard nothing but praise for it.

Forcadilla helped lead the NSW Women's squad to a 4th place finish at this year's U20's Australian Junior Championships, averaging 11.5 ppg, 4.12 rpg and 2.25 apg. She is Saint Mary's first commitment for the 2016 recruiting class, and will join a host of Australians already on campus.

Western Australian big Megan McKay signed with the Gaels at the end of last year, joining their 2015 recruiting class. Lauren Nicholson, Hannah Kaser and Carly Turner are also among the Australian women already on campus.

The Australian connection, of course, also extends to the men's squad. Tanner Krebs, Kyle Clark and Jordan Hunter will be a part of the program for the upcoming season, joining Dane Pineau, Jock Landale and Emmett Narr.

As for Forcadilla's goals heading into college, she hopes to continue to develop her game, with the ultimate goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament.

Personally, I just want to develop into the very best player that I can be. From a team perspective, getting to the NCAA tournament would be a great achievement that I'll hopefully get to experience at Saint Mary's!

Jasmine Forcadilla commits to Saint Mary's

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