General | 1/24/2020 5:47:00 PM

GRAMBLING, La. - Grambling State University announces its first batch of soccer recruits for the 2020 season. These seven seniors in high school will join a Lady Tigers team that has qualified for the playoffs for three consecutive years while posting at least ten wins per season in each of those years.

Three of Grambling's recruits, Lizbeth Aguero, Chloe Spencer and DeMaia Ross hail from Texas while Briana Hernandez joins the Lady Tigers from California.

Rounding out the first batch of recruits is Quinn Warren from Wisconsin, Tanzania Villacis from Baton Rouge, and Kaja Cross from Ontario, Canada.

Grambling head coach Justin Wagar is thrilled with the quality of recruits and individuals joining GSU in this year's class.

"They are great young ladies who will further establish the success of our program and help us reach our goals in the classroom and on the soccer field," said Coach Wager.

"Please read below and click the links to view highlights of our recruits in action. Go Tigers!"

Lizbeth Aguero is an incoming freshman from North Side High in Fort Worth, Texas. Aguero excels both in the classroom and on the soccer pitch. Academically she is top 10 percent of her class and has been a National Honor Society recipient the past three years. 

In high school soccer, Aguero was stellar, garnering first-team All-District honors as well as Newcomer of the Year her freshmen year, netting 30 goals and 10 assists that season. During her sophomore year she earned District MVP honors. By her junior year, Aguero was voted captain and once again made first-team All-District. She recently began her senior season and was selected as a team captain for the second consecutive year.  

For club soccer, Aguero belongs to the prestigious Solar Soccer Club which boasts some of the best teams and players in the nation. Aguero is a captain for team Solar and was honored as Player of the Tournament for the ESPN Cup.

Coach Wagar said regarding Lizbeth, "what really drew me to Lizbeth was her savvy play with the ball. She is a smart player and has the ability to connect with teammates on their runs. Lizbeth is calm on the ball and crafty in the attack."

Click here to view highlight film on Aguero.


Chloe Spencer is a talented forward and midfielder from Victoria, Texas. Spencer is a four-year Varsity Starter for Victoria East High where she earned first-team All-District each year and was captain during her junior and senior years. In her junior year, she also was honored with second team All-Region honors as well as honorable mention All-State. Spencer was named East Offensive MVP during her sophomore and junior seasons after scoring a total of 44 goals in two seasons. Spencer scored both goals in her teams' area playoff game to help them advance to the regional semifinal round. 

For club soccer, Spencer has been the top scorer for Inwood Soccer Club (ISC) for the past two seasons. Her team made it to the SCL playoffs in 2016, 2017 and 2018. 

Coach Wagar said of Chloe that "she's such a hard-working, determined player that competes with passion. We had her out to campus for our ID camp a year ago and she was hustling on every play, doing moves to beat defenders, and bodying up to win the ball. We're looking forward to having her at GSU."

Click here to view highlight film on Spencer.

Canadian Defender Kaja Cross will be joining the Lady Tigers from Markham, Ontario. She prepped for St. Brother Andre Catholic High School, where she started every year for her varsity team as one of the top defenders in the league. Cross was selected for Ontario's provincial screening two years in a row. Her school team played in the finals for their respective region three years in a row and the soccer team was recognized at her school as one of the most successful athletic programs. Cross also played basketball. 

For club soccer, she represented the Unionville Milliken Strikers. She played on the Ontario Women's Soccer League and played for the U21 team and the League One team as well as OPDL. Her team was ranked ninth in the nation this past year and was ranked second in the nation in 2018. 

Coach Wagar said regarding Kaja, "she's an aggressive, athletic, smart defender who can cover a lot of ground in the defensive half. She tackles hard, has good technical skills and is a cerebral player. We were fortunate enough to get her out to our camp this past July and see her train with our other campers and recruits and we're confident she can excel at this level of competition in the SWAC. We're excited to have Kaja as part of our Grambling soccer program."

Click here to view highlight film on Cross.


Quinlan Warren is a senior goalkeeper from Middleton, Wisconsin. Warren prepped at Middleton High where she was a member of varsity soccer and varsity tennis teams for three years. Warren played for the state ODP team for two years, and for club she played for Madison 56'ers, then moved to FC Wisconsin ECNL for the past three years. Warren attended camp "Shut-out" and won the number one female keeper honor at the camp as well as taking home the Feed the Beat award for being someone to look up to and supporting those on and off the field.

Coach Wagar said of Quinlan, "we knew we needed a solid incoming keeper with a good work ethic for this class, so when we saw and liked Quinn's film, we invited her to our summer camp. She attended and was as good in person as she was on film. She's skilled technically and has a strong all-around game with punts, kicks, throws and decision making. She also has a good coachable attitude which is always a plus. " 

Click here to view highlight film on Warren.

Briana Hernandez will be joining the Grambling State women's soccer team this fall from Arcadia, California. Hernandez has played midfield and forward for the LA Galaxy Development Academy team since 2017. Prior to that she was a member of Arsenal FC ECNL from 2013-2017.

Hernandez has extensive soccer experience including being a member of Cal South ODP Winter, Summer and Fall pools, and was a final 18 selection in 2014. She was also a member of USA's National Futsal Team from 2014-2016. Hernandez was a member of the El Salvador U-17 National team and recently got called up to the El Salvador U-20 National Team. 

For prep ball, Hernandez's high school seasons were cut short due to Development Academy rules, but she was the MVP for her girls varsity soccer team at Smidt Tech High School, scoring 39 goals while only playing half of her freshman season. 

Coach Wagar said of Briana, "she is an extremely talented and technical player with superb foot skills, training habits, and work rate. Bri has a wonderful attitude and is good on the ball. I like her versatility as well and her experience playing on the national team and DA program which will prepare her to fit nicely into our system at GSU."

Click here to view highlight film on Hernandez. Click here to check out fancy footwork by the California native.


DeMaia Ross is a speedy player from Duncanville, Texas. Ross is a four-year varsity starter at Duncanville High who has received honorable mention All-District as a freshman, second-team All-District as a sophomore, and first-team All-District as a junior while currently serving her senior year. Ross was also a member of the high school marching band as a freshman and played the flute. 

For club soccer, Ross plays for the D'Feeters Kicks Soccer Club NPL team and plays both defense and forward using her speed to get up and down the field.

Coach Wagar said "DeMaia is a good find for us. She is extremely fast, can transition well and cover a lot of ground. She is best going forward with a ball at her feet. She excelled at our Elite Camp last year and has a great personality and attitude." 

Click here to view highlight film on Ross.


Tanzanea Villacis is an incoming freshman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is a four-year varsity starting defender for Baton Rouge Magnet High and her team has made it to the second round of the LSHAA playoffs for three consecutive years. Villacis was honored with first team All-District honors during her freshman, sophomore and junior years, and her senior season is currently underway. She was also honored as Freshman MVP. 

For club ball, Villacis has played for Baton Rouge Soccer Club since 2014. In 2015 she also began playing for the State Olympic Development team which is where Coach Wagar first saw Villacis in action. Her BRSC club team qualified for nationals in 2015 in Indiana, then again in 2017 in Colorado. Villacis is a four-year varsity track runner in the 300-meter hurdles and the high jump. 

Coach Wagar said of Tanzanea that "she's a talented athletic soccer player who is fast, strong, athletic, and can get up the field and into the attack."

 Click here to view highlight film on Villacis.