Cassie Bibby Commits to USC for Division I soccer
Cassie Bibby (’24), a player on Samo’s Girls’ Varsity soccer team, committed to play Division I soccer at the University of Southern California (USC) on Nov. 8. Although she was unable to try out for the Samo soccer team her freshman year due to distance learning, she has played on varsity since her sophomore year. Bibby is thankful for her club team and coach at LA Breakers 06 ECNL for helping her along the recruiting process and achieving this long-term goal. Some major accomplishments of Bibby are, she received the Rookie Of The Year Award for Samo in 2022, as well as the Bay League All Conference Award, and the Coaches Award both in 2023. Bibby talks about her soccer career and her experience with getting recruited.
Q: How did you get into soccer, and when did you know you wanted to play at a higher level?
A: “I started playing AYSO at like five-ish and did dance at the same time. Dance was easily the priority until seventh grade when I started playing for Breakers. I played under Jane Alukonis, who is now going to be my coach again at USC. She’s one of the biggest reasons I started to love the game and know that I wanted to play at a high level, so it’s super cool for it all to come full circle in the way that it did.”
Q: What was the recruitment process like for you?
A: “It started way back, in 9th grade I started reaching out to coaches. COVID kind of messed everything up, so nobody really came out in my 9th grade year to watch, but then it started really moving fast. I started emailing coaches twice a week, hoping they would come to my showcases.”
Q: What made you decide to commit to USC?
A: “I knew I wanted to be close to home, and I just wanted to play at the best school that I would be able to. I also knew the coach from 7th grade, she was my club coach, so having that, like, full circle connection, I already knew that I loved her as a person, and I loved the campus.”
Q: Who are you most grateful for during this process?
A: “I think the person that I am the most grateful for would be my club coach. He was one of the most encouraging people because it was such a rough time and nobody really talks about how stressful and all the rumors of it. He did a really good job staying positive and talking to coaches on my behalf and just helping develop my technical skills as well.”
Q: Who are you most looking forward to playing with at USC?
A: “I’m looking forward to just playing with people that I’ve looked up to for the past few years during this process. I think especially of Simone Jackson and Brooklyn Courtnall. Brooklyn Courtnall plays the position I play so just to look up to her.”
Q: What advice would you give to any other high school athletes trying to get recruited?
A: “Definitely cast a wide net because there are so many schools out there and you don’t know what you’ll actually end up liking. So definitely don’t set your heart on one school, and know that if your dream school doesn’t call it’s okay. You have so much time, so just don’t get stressed, and remember that it’s supposed to be a fun process.”
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Cassie Bibby / Contributor
Cassie Bibby (’24) celebrates her verbal commitment to USC back in June.