Guard commits to Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team for 2013-14 class

Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach Ty Margenthaler recently completed his first recruiting class that features six new players for next season.

Margenthaler, who is entering his second year at Southeast, has gotten an early start on his recruiting class for 2013-14.

Ashton Luttrull, a 5-foot-8 junior point guard at Highland (Mo.) High School near Quincy, Ill., gave Southeast her verbal commitment this week. The earliest she can make it official is in November during the NCAA's early signing period.

Margenthaler is prohibited by NCAA regulations from commenting on recruits until they sign, but Luttrull appears excited about joining the Redhawks.

"I had visited all the schools that were interested in me, and I just had a good feeling about SEMO," Luttrull told the Quincy Herald-Whig newspaper. "I didn't think there was any use in waiting whenever I was 100 percent sure that it was the place for me. I knew that SEMO was where I wanted to go, so I decided to go ahead and commit."

Luttrull averaged 20.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this past season. She helped the Cougars compile a 17-9 record and earned Class 3 all-state honors from the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. She was named the Clarence Cannon Conference player of the year.

Michaela Fray, Luttrull's AAU coach, said Southeast will be getting a talented player who will be an asset both on and off the court.

"She is an extremely talented player with much natural talent, but what separates her from other players and makes her a great player is her work ethic and leadership," Fray said. "She's going to be a huge contributor not only on the court but to the school and the community. High academics. ... You couldn't get a better kid."

Fray said Luttrull, who also had a scholarship offer from Evansville of the Missouri Valley Conference, is a well-rounded player with the ability to score in a variety of ways.

"She can really score," Fray said. "Many times she faced double and triple teams and still put up amazing numbers."