New Cleveland State post players Izzi Zingaro and Laurel Rockwood have received overwhelmingly-positive reviews through their summer and preseason workouts, offering the promise that the Vikings will once again be very strong in the middle of the floor.
There is one significant problem, though. Both Zingaro and Rockwood are in their last year of eligibility, meaning that the program will once again be starting from scratch at the five in 2026.
Enter Addison Carr, a 2026-graduating pivot from California, MO who committed to CSU on August 29th, before formally announcing her pledge on Thursday morning.
The Vikings offered Carr in mid-July, so it’s probably fair to say that things proceeded fairly quickly with the rising senior at Hickman High School, who has now become the program’s first 2026 commitment.
That’s a good sign, given that Cleveland State has enjoyed mostly-productive results with homegrown post players during Chris Kielsmeier’s tenure. Roughly half of those recruited freshmen went on to receive All-Horizon League honors, including Savanna Crockett, Nadia Dumas and Jordana Reisma (who, in an odd bit of symmetry, transferred to the University of Missouri after last season, just a couple miles down the road from Hickman High).
The most recent high school recruit at the position, however, was Paulina Hernandez, who played sparingly over two seasons before moving on to Youngstown State in the spring and disrupting the depth chart’s class distribution.
Of course, it’s absurd to suggest that Carr has much more growing to do, at least in the physical sense. At 6-6, she will likely be the tallest player in program history (CSU’s published rosters date back to the 2003-04 season, with no player stretching beyond the 6-4 of Stephanie Youdath and Aminata Ly). That certainly presents plenty of intrigue, assuming Carr effectively moves up and down the floor, as required in Kielsmeier’s system.
Reports are that she can, including Prep Girls Hoops’ assessment that Carr is “a prototypical 5 that runs rim-to-rim.” Jr. All-Star offered a particularly glowing, if somewhat redundant, scout during this past grassroots season.
“Addison is an extremely tall 6-6 center with a tremendous wingspan who alters and blocks shots on a consistent basis throughout a game,” it began. “She will do whatever it takes to help her team be successful. Addison is an unstoppable force in the inside and will score at will around the rim.”
One curious thing about Carr’s recruitment is that typically, “6-6” next to a name will draw in suitors about as consistently as a second defender. However, that hasn’t really been the case; Prep Girls Hoops reported an offer from Illinois State on August 5th, with others in the mix including Division II schools like Pittsburg State and Nebraska-Kearney.
Nevertheless, Cleveland State believes it has spotted something right in the middle of the Show Me State that others have somehow missed: a foundational player for next season and beyond.
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Get the big girl the ball and feed the low post.