ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana Head Coach Mark Beinborn has announced his recruiting class for the upcoming basketball season. Heading into his seventh season leading the Viking program, Beinborn has added eight athletes he believes will help continue its recent upswing. Over the past two seasons, Augustana has enjoyed its winningest stretch in 25 years.
 

Joining the Vikings from nearby Rock Island High School will be 5' 9" Lauren Hall. The daughter of two Augustana basketball alums—Henry Hall (1987-91) and Laura Bussman Hall (1988-90)—she was a four-year letter winner and served as a team captain as a senior for the powerhouse Lady Rock program. She was a two-time All-Western Big 6 and Dispatch/Argus All-Metro selection and twice earned All-Metro honorable mention from the Quad-City Times.
 
This year, Hall averaged nine points and nine rebounds per game for a 24-8 Rock Island outfit and shot 58 percent from the field and 70 percent from the foul line. She averaged 4.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for a 31-2 Lady Rock squad as a junior.
 

Another athlete with strong Augustana bloodlines is Cassie Kruse. The 5' 11" forward joins the Vikings from Hinsdale Central High School in Hinsdale, Illinois, where she was a three-year basketball letter winner. Her father, Craig, was an All-CCIW offensive lineman at Augustana in the early '90's and her mother, Kristen, lettered in basketball for the Vikings.
 
A member of the Red Devils' 2018 state champion lacrosse squad, Kruse plans on playing that sport for the Vikings as well.
 
Sophie Ahlberg, a 5' 2" point guard, comes to Augustana from Wheaton North High School in Wheaton, Illinois. A four-year letter winner, she twice earned All-

DuPage Valley Conference honorable mention and garnered All-Area honorable mention from the Daily Herald after her junior season.
 
As a senior, Ahlberg helped lead the Falcons to a 20-9 record and a regional championship. She led the team in assists while averaging four points per game and shooting 65 percent from the free throw line.
 

Beinborn also landed Daina Riser, a 5' 8" forward from Lake Park High School in Roselle, Illinois. Riser averaged 5.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for an 18-10 Lancer outfit this year, earning All-DuPage Valley Conference honorable mention.
 
The Vikings will also welcome Olivia Hagerty of Rockford Guilford High School in Rockford, Illinois. A 5' 4" point guard, Hagerty was a four-year basketball letter winner at Guilford. As a senior, she averaged 4.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. She won the Vikings' "Never Settle" and "Way to Share It" awards and was selected to play in the Rising Stars All-Star Classic.

Chaadah Hodges, a 5' 6" guard from Miller Career Academy in St. Louis, Missouri, will be joining the Vikings as well. She was a second team all-conference performer for the Phoenix each of the last three years. During that time, she averaged 8.3 points per game on shooting percentages of .431 from the field and .272 from three-point range.
 
As a senior, Hodges—MCA's 2018 class valedictorian—helped lead the Phoenix to an 18-11 record, a district title and a fourth-place finish at the MHSAA Class 4 State Championships.
 

Beinborn also welcomes Sydney Drozdowski, a 6' post from Rosary High School in Aurora, Illinois. Drozdowski averaged eight points a game for the Royals as a senior and advanced to the sectional round of the IHSA Three-point Showdown.
 

Jeni Crain is a 5' 6" guard out of Woodstock High School in Woodstock, Illinois. A transfer from Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, she will be a junior for Augustana in 2018-19. In her first two seasons with the Scots, Crain averaged 6.3 points, connected on 21 three-pointers and shot .682 from the free throw line. She had a team-high 21 points in a 95-70 loss to the Vikings this past season.