The early signing period is bearing down on the Class of 2011, with the first signing day on Wednesday, November 10. We have some additional commitments to report for the Class of 2011, some recent and some taking place over the summer:

Evansville Memorial senior Mallory Ladd (right) will suit up for the brown and gold next season when she arrives on the campus of Valparaiso University. The 6’0 power forward averaged 22 points and 14 rebounds per game as a junior, which garnered the physical post a spot on the Indiana Junior All-Stars Core team this past summer. Ladd, who led the Tigers to a 23-4 record last season under long-time head coach Bruce Dockery, also considered options at Evansville and Indianapolis. She joins Jessica Carr of Hamilton Heights in VU’s 2011 recruiting class.

• Valparaiso University women’s basketball team gets bigger with Ladd – The Times

Mooresville senior Jama Sharp (left) has verballed to Stetson University in Florida. As a junior, Sharp averaged 16.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 4.2 steals per game last season while helping the Pioneers to a 25-2 record on the way to a second straight sectional championship. As a junior, the 5’8 Sharp was named to the Indianapolis Star’s Super Team, Indiana Junior All-Stars Core Team, Mid-State All Conference Team, Indianapolis Star All West Team, IBCA All State Underclassmen, ICGSA 2nd Team All State, 1st Team Indianapolis Star Super Team and Mooresville Co-MVP, and was invited to the IBCA/IHSAA Top 100 Showcase.

Terre Haute South senior Haley Seibert will take her considerable shooting talents to the hardcourt at IPFW next fall. The 5’5 guard averaged 15.8 points and 2.5 steals per game while shooting a blistering 60% from the field. Seibert, who led her team to a 14-10 record under head coach Dave Cassel, was named All-MIC, Tribune Star Player of the Year, AP All-State Honorable Mention and IBCA Underclass Honorable Mention. Seibert also considered options at Stetson, Southern Indiana and DePauw before selecting the ‘Dons as her team of choice.

• South’s Seibert verbally commits to IPFW – WTHI
• South’s Seibert, Lee looking forward to playing for IPFW – Tribune-Star

Hamilton Heights senior guard Maddie Herr (shooting, left) committed to South Carolina Upstate on an unofficial visit last month. The 5’9 guard averaged 8.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 46% from the field as a junior. Herr was instrumental to her team’s success over the past few years, including a 20-2 campaign under head coach Kurt Ogden last season. “She is one of the most driven and passionate individuals that I’ve had the opportunity to coach,” says Ogden. “Maddie has to make sacrifices when she plays for Hamilton Heights compared to AAU. We have to use her physical style of play inside and that’s even truer this year than in the past. We won’t have a lot of size, so we will be asking Maddie to provide a lot of inside scoring and we certainly expect her to be one of our leading rebounders.” With her commitment to USCU, Herr becomes the third D-I commit on the Hamilton Heights roster along with Jessica Carr (Valparaiso) and Libby Ogden (IPFW). Herr will join Lauren McRoberts (Carmel) and Kelci Freds (Warsaw) on the Spartans roster when she heads to South Carolina next year.

Senior Darion Hutchinson (right) of Scottsburg has committed to Bellarmine University in Louisville. The 6’1 forward averaged 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game as a junior for head coach Donna Cheatham. Shooting 65% from the field, this raw talent was named All Mid-Southern Conference HM, Scottsburg Impact Player of the Year and led her team in scoring, blocks and free throw percentage. During the summer, she was named to the United States Junior Nationals (USJN) All Star Team.

Next season, Carroll (Flora) guard Quinci Eller (left) will be heading to the campus at Purdue University Calumet in Hammond after signing with PUC head coach Tom Megyesi last month. The 5’6 guard averaged 15.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game as a junior. She led the Cougars to an 18-5 record and their third-straight Class 2A sectional crown last season. Eller was named to her third straight Kokomo Tribune All-Region team and particiapted in the Indiana Basketball News Top 100 workout. She was also named the Journal & Courier Small School Player of the Year and Hoosier Heartland All-Conference. “We are very excited that Quinci chose to continue her academic and athletic career at PUC,” said Megyesi. “She possesses the ability to play either guard position and will be an immediate asset to our program both on and off the court.” Eller has also excelled in the classroom, having been inducted into Carroll’s National Honor Society while currently ranking first in her class with a 4.1 grade-point average. She has been awarded Purdue Calumet’s prestigious Chancellor’s Scholar honor, becoming the second Peregrine recruit in as many years to obtain the distinction.

All-around senior Dakota Hack (right) of Princeton has signed with Olivet Nazarene in Illinois. The 6’0 forward averaged 7.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game as a junior for Tigers head coach Jim Thompson. “Dakota’s best basketball is ahead,” said Thompson in the Princeton Daily Clarion. “In college she’ll have opportunity to play on the permieter. We’ve had to player her inside, but she has played outside in travel basketball. She’s physically strong and has worked hard on her game at all levels.” Hack, who plans to study biology in college, also received an offer from D-I Gardner-Webb. She is the first Princeton player to sign with a four-year institution since 2003 (Jessica Williams, Southern Indiana).

• Dragging by mom pays off for Dakota – Princeton Daily Clarion