The University of Maryland, one of the most successful programs in major women’s college basketball history and the reigning Big Ten champions, on Thursday afternoon the latest school to extend a full scholarship offer to NEPA Elite Clark 17U player Ciera Toomey.
Maryland led the nation in scoring in the 2020-21 season when it went 26-3 overall. The Terps were 17-1 in the Big Ten to win the conference regular-season title, then also won the Big Ten Tournament. They advanced to the 18th national Sweet 16 appearance in the program’s 50-year history.
Toomey, a 6-foot-3 Class of 2023 forward, is the leading scorer on the defending Hoop Group Showcase League champion NEPA Elite Clark team for a second straight season. She helped the team win the Hoop Group’s Pennsylvania Showcase title June 11-13 at East Stroudsburg University, then began The Prime Event East Saturday and Sunday 30-for-37 (81.1 percent) from the floor while helping the team place second out of 32 in the event’s top division. For the weekend, Toomey averaged team-highs of 17.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocks while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor, 50.0 on 3-pointers and 77.8 from the line.
At Dunmore, Toomey is a two-time high school all-state player, including a first-team Class 4A choice as a sophomore in the 2020-21 season.
ESPN recently ranked Toomey as the nation’s 14th-best prospect in the Class of 2023 and among the 15 uncommitted Players To Watch in women’s basketball recruiting this summer.
Major college coaching staffs agree.
Reigning champion North Carolina State and Atlantic Coast Conference rivals Virginia Tech and North Carolina extended scholarship offers earlier this month. Maryland makes it 19 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I offers – 17 scholarships plus opportunities to play in the non-scholarship Ivy League at Columbia or Penn.
The earlier scholarship offers came from Boston College, Bucknell, Michigan, Northeastern, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rider, St. John’s, Vanderbilt, Villanova and West Virginia.
Maryland, which has 1,055 wins, 28 NCAA tournament appearances, 23 conference championships, 6 Final Four appearances and a 2006 national title in its history, has appeared in the national Top 25 for more than 200 consecutive weekly rankings. It ranks second to Connecticut in the number of former players active in the WNBA.
