Zoe Young, the USA Today Player of the Year in Iowa, will miss her freshman year with the Maryland women’s basketball team after suffering a torn ACL during a recent practice.
A spokeswoman for the program confirmed Wednesday that Young suffered the injury during a noncontact drill earlier this month. The shooting guard will be a candidate to apply for a medical redshirt and retain four years of eligibility.
Coach Brenda Frese was unavailable to comment, but plans to address the news during the team’s media day Thursday.
The 5-foot-10 Young averaged 24.3 points per game as a senior and was ranked by ESPN as the No. 32 overall player and the No. 8 guard in the country. She was named to the All-State first team in 2016-17 and the All-State first real elite roster in 2017-18 and 2018-19. An alternate for the United States Under-17 National Team, Young led West Des Moines Valley High School to state championships in 2017 and 2019.
Young, who also considered Iowa, Iowa State, Louisville and Michigan State, is part of a freshman class that was ranked as the No. 3 group by ESPN. The class includes point guard Ashley Owusu (No. 7 overall and No. 2 at her position), shooting guard Diamond Miller (No. 17, No. 5) and small forward Faith Masonius (No. 86, No. 15).