The University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball program grabbed some hometown talent for its Class of 2020.
Yale Secondary’s Kyleigh Boldt, W.J. Mouat’s Gurveer Sidhu and G.W. Graham’s Sydney Fraess are the new recruits.
Boldt put together a stellar high school basketball career with the Yale Lions. She earned athlete of the year honours at Yale in her Grade 9 and 10 seasons, and helped the Lions to a fourth-place finish at provincials in 2018, earning first team all-star honours at the Fraser Valley and B.C. championship tourneys. After an injury-marred Grade 11 year, she came back strong as a senior, helping the Lions win bronze at 4A provincials. Along the way, she earned all-star nods at the Eastern Valley championship and the Cascade Classic.
Boldt’s athletic history also includes highlights in the sport of rope skipping – she’s a former national champion, and a multi-time provincial champ.
“We think Kyleigh was one of the most underrated players in high school basketball last year,” women’s head coach Al Tuchscherer stated. “She’s an outstanding athlete with a penchant for making big plays in big situations. Her motor and compete have always been her calling card but we think she has been an underrated scorer who can shoot the three and put the ball to the floor. We’re excited to see Kyleigh open some eyes this year.”
Sidhu was a high-volume scorer at Mouat, pouring in 27 points per game on behalf of the Hawks this past season and earning league all-star honours. Coach Tuchscherer calls her “the wild card of our recruiting class” and compares her skillset to former Cascades point guard Celeste Dyck.
“Gurveer has been a high-level scorer in B.C. high school basketball for the past three years,” he noted. “She has extreme quickness and is a shifty guard who can score in a bunch of different ways. Her quickness also makes her a real pest on defence. What she lacks in size she makes up for with determination and an ‘I’ll show you’ attitude.”
Sidhu is enrolled in kinesiology at UFV.
Fraess, a former high school teammate of current Cascade Deanna Tuchscherer at G.W. Graham, is coming off a sparkling two-year run at Douglas College. She paced the Royals and finished fourth in the Pacwest in scoring (13.2 points per game) this past season, and she did so in highly efficient fashion, leading the league in field goal percentage (48.0) and three-point percentage (39.1). She also led the Royals in rebounding (6.9) and steals (1.8) on her way to league first team all-star honours. Fraess’s rookie season was equally promising – she earned a conference all-rookie nod in 2018-19.
“We know Syd very well, and she’s flourished under coach Steve Beauchamp at Douglas,” Tuchscherer said. “I think she’s a perfect example of a very self-aware athlete taking the right path, getting great coaching and then moving on to the U Sports level. If you look at the Pacwest leaderboard it becomes apparent what an effective and versatile player she has been for DC. We love her versatility and her efficient play, and we think she is going to have an immediate impact on our team this year.”
