News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M soccer team received certification of the appropriate paperwork for five of the most coveted high school players in the nation, head coach G Guerrieri announced Wednesday.
Guerrieri and his staff mined the mother lode of talent in the Lone Star State with three signees, including Tessa Marie Arreola Lavender (Dallas/FC Dallas/Hebron HS), Bailey Cate (Lubbock/Dallas Texans/Lubbock Cooper HS) and Holly Storer (Keller/FC Dallas/Keller).
The Aggies also went out west to land two defenders from California – Riley Crooks (Huntington Beach/Slammers FC/Edison HS) and Lucy Landherr (Chino Hills/Legends FC/Chino Hills HS).
“We are very excited to add these five great young players to our 2025 roster,” Guerrieri said. “This is a group of talented players who can each come in as a freshman and make a positive impact on our team’s success.”
The Aggies addressed a need with two forwards – Cate and Storer.
“Adding two high-level forwards like Bailey and Holly is an immediate boost to our team on the offensive end,” Guerrieri said. “Each brings a physical and tactical edge that’s often so hard to find in young players. We need to score in the conference and championship portions of the season vs some of the toughest opponents in America, and they will help us produce goals.”
In addition to Crooks and Landherr, Arreola Lavender arrives as a player who bolsters a strength of the Aggies – the backline.
“The injection of three super talented defenders like Tessa, Riley and Lucy gives us an upgrade on the defensive side of the ball every day in training and throughout our grueling schedule of games against the other best teams in the nation. All three of these young ladies are outstanding athletes and defenders. All three are also exceptional in going forward with the ball and enhancing our attacking play when we’re in possession of the ball.
The recruiting class once again is chocked full of players who have picked up academic accolades in their prep careers along with shining on the field. The entire class is expected to enroll early, beginning their Aggieland academic careers in January 2025.
“All five of these young Aggies have played in the most competitive youth competitions for some of the very best-coached clubs in America,” Guerrieri said. “We’re excited all five are graduating a semester early and will arrive here in January. They will get an entire non-traditional season of training and spring games to integrate into our team and level-up our team’s chemistry.”
TEXAS A&M SOCCER 2025 SIGNING CLASS
|
Player |
Position |
Hometown |
Club Team |
High School |
|
Tessa Marie Arreola Lavender |
Defender |
Dallas, Texas |
FC Dallas |
Hebron |
|
Bailey Cate |
Forward |
Lubbock, Texas |
Dallas Texans |
Lubbock-Cooper |
|
Riley Crooks |
Defender |
Huntington Beach, Calif. |
Slammers FC |
Edison |
|
Lucy Landherr |
Defender |
Chino Hills, Calif. |
Legends FC |
Chino Hills |
|
Holly Storer |
Forward |
Keller, Texas |
FC Dallas |
Keller |
TESSA MARIE ARREOLA LAVENDER – Defender – Dallas, Texas (FC Dallas / Hebron HS)
· Veteran of the Mexico National Team youth squads, playing for the U14, U15 & U17 clubs
· Has played for FC Dallas 07G ECNL club team the last four years trained by coaches Gareth Evans and Matt Grubb
· Claimed three Dallas Cup titles from 2022-24 with FC Dallas
· Three-year letterwinner at Hebron High School under the tutelage of coaches Robert Vaughn and Kallie Essary
· Won UIL Texas 6A state title in 2024
· Led team to a combined 51-11-10 mark her three seasons on varsity, including a 30-5-7 mark in district play
· Earned District 6-6A Second Team recognition in 2023
Coach Guerrieri says… “Tessa is an excellent player and is going to excite our fans, both because of her tenacity and ability to defend, but also because she is a player who can maraud the entire sideline as a dangerous attacking force for Texas A&M. She comes to Aggieland with valuable experiences under great coaches at FC Dallas as well as the Mexican youth National Team.”
BAILEY CATE – Forward – Lubbock, Texas (Dallas Texans / Lubbock-Cooper HS)
· Played for Dallas Texans Soccer Club ECNL from 2020-24 coached by Michelle Hjalber, Roderick Scott and Kioumars Rezaie
· Claimed the Dallas International Cup with Dallas Texans in 2023 and finished runner-up in the competition in 2022
· Also finished first at the 2023 ECNL Houston Showcase
· Played with Solar Soccer Club (2017-20) with Coaches Joey Kennington and Charles Byars, and LBK Football Club (2015-17) for Coach Lance Patton
· Earned ECNL Texas All-Conference in 2023
· Four-year letter winner at Lubbock-Cooper High School playing for Coaches Trevor Burkhead and Bridgett Jenkins Rogers
· Named Texas Girls Coaches Association 6A All-State in 2024
· Claimed United Soccer Coaches Texas All-State in 2023
· Other 2023 honors included Texas Association of Soccer Coaches All-Region 1-5A Honorable Mention and Hub City Preps Offensive Player of the Year
· Named District 4-5A MVP in 2022, ’23 and ‘24
· Freshman honors in 2021 included District 4-5A Newcomer of the Year, Lonestar Varsity Newcomer of the Year and Hub City Preps First Team
Coach Guerrieri says… “Bailey is a great addition to our attack. She is powerful and quick on the ball and is always a threat to score from anywhere within 35 yards of goal. She is a player that our fans are going to fall in love with.”
RILEY CROOKS – Defender – Huntington Beach, Calif. (Slammers FC / Edison HS)
· Played for Slammers FC ECNL from 2021-24 coached by Walter Camargo, serving as a team captain from 2022-24
· Led Slammers FC to the ECNL National Finals and ECNL Southwest Conference Mojave Division crown in 2023 and ECNL Champions League Round of 16 and Surf Cup Best of the Best finals in 2022
· Three-time ECNL All-Southwest Conference First Team – 2022, ’23, ‘24
· Spent time with West Coast FC Girls Academy (2021) under Coach Doug Swanson and SoCal Blues FC ECNL/DA (2014-20) under Coach Rob Rennie
· Led West Coast to a third-place finish at the 2021 Girls Academy National Championships
· Helped SoCal Blues win titles at the 2017 Blues Cup, 2017 and 2018 Manchester City Cup and 2019 Surf Cup Best of the Best
· Versatile three-sport athlete at Edison High School in Huntington Beach, lettering in soccer, track & field and flag football
· Four-year letter winner in soccer, playing for her mother Kerry Crooks who has been head coach at Edison for more than 30 years
· Led Chargers to a 16-7-2 record, Sunset League title and second round of CIF Division I Playoffs as a junior
· Served as team captain as a junior and senior and earned team MVP recognition as a sophomore and junior
· Other honors as a junior include Sunset League MVP, All-CIF Division 1 First Team and All-Orange County First Team
· Three-time All-Sunset League honoree, including first team as a sophomore and junior and second team as a freshman
· Holds top Edison all-time top 10 times in four different track events
· Track & field accolades include three Sunset League individual championship, six-time CIF Division 2 qualifier and Edison Team MVP as a junior
· Played flag football her last two years, earning Sunset League First Team, all-county second team and Edison MVP as a junior
· Six-time Sunset League Scholar Athlete
· Mother played soccer at UC Irvine
· Grandfather, Michael McGrath is in the Pro Bowlers Association Hall of Fame and ABC Sports Hall of Fame
Coach Guerrieri says… “Riley is very smart, fast, and versatile. She has the ability to play in a variety of roles for us because she can dominate centrally, as well as out wide. She is the daughter of a great high school coach, and thus understands and reads the game at an advanced level, making her one of the most dominant and exciting young players coming out of California this year.”
LUCY LANDHERR – Defender – Chino Hills, Calif. (Legends FC / Chino Hills HS)
· Played for Legends FC ECNL from 2013-14 under the direction of Coaches Matt Evans, Ryan Casey, Jim Wain, Neil Powell an Josh Hodges
· Helped Legends FC claim ECNL Southwest Conference – Mojave titles in 2021-22 and 2023-24
· Also guided club to Fair West Regional title in 2018 and runner-up in 2019
· Earned 2025 Girls IMG Academy Top 150 status in 2022
· Versatile three-sport athlete at Chino Hills High School, lettering in soccer, swimming and water polo
· Led Huskies to California Interscholastic Federation title for Southern Section Division 6 in 2022 and Baseline League crown in 2023
· Helped Chino Hills win swim team claim Baseline League title in 2023
· Earned All-Baseline League First Team in water polo in 2023
· AP Scholar with Honor earning a 4.5455 GPA
Coach Guerrieri says… “Lucy is an amazing young player who can physically dominate the game defensively and break it open in attack. She is also an amazing teammate and someone who immediately adds to our championship team culture.”
HOLLY STORER – Forward – Keller, Texas (FC Dallas / Keller HS)
· Veteran of the United States National Team youth squads with four call-ups
· Has played for FC Dallas 07G ECNL club team from 2014-24 trained by coaches Gareth Evans and Matt Grubb
· Claimed three Dallas Cup titles from 2022-24 with FC Dallas
· Garnered ECNL Texas All-Conference in 2024
· Four-year letter winner at Keller High School for Coach Cory Oglesby
· Earned TASCO Class 6A All-State, and All-District 4-6A First Team in 2024
· Garnered Texas Girls Coaches Association 6A All-State First Team, TASCO All-Region 1-6A and All-District 4-6A in 2023
· Tabbed District 4-6A Newcomer of the Year in 2022
· Claimed Academic All-District 4-6A distinction in 2024
Coach Guerrieri says… “Holly is one of the most intelligent and instinctive forwards that we have seen come through the youth ranks in Texas in a number of years. She reads play and times her runs off the ball so well that she’s always a threat to score when she has it in shooting range.”