NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball program will welcome Ajai Simmons and Errin Hodges to the team for the start of the 2017-18 season, after the duo signed National Letters of Intent, it was announced Thursday by head coach Barb Smith.
"We are thrilled to have Ajai and Errin join our Redbird Family," Smith said. "They are going to make a great backcourt. Ajai and Erinn are both extremely competitive, smart, versatile workers who play hard at both ends of the floor. Not only can both of them score, but they both play defense and rebound as well. Ajai and Errin are leaders who will have an immediate impact. The future looks bright."
Simmons, who hails from Studio City, California, is in her senior season at Brentwood High School in Los Angeles, California. The 5-foot-10 guard is coming off a junior campaign in which she averaged 18.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.2 steals per game while garnering First-Team All-California Interscholastic Federation and First-Team All-Gold Coast League honors for the second-consecutive season.
"Ajai brings great credentials and experience to our program," Smith said. "She has played at the highest level both in high school and in club basketball. She is a competitor who is not afraid of hard work. She can score in many ways, is an exceptional shooter and can also direct the team in a point guard situation."
An honor roll student who wants to major in business at Illinois State, Simmons has earned three varsity letters and was a team captain her sophomore and junior seasons. After Brentwood won the Division 4A CIF Southern Section Girls Basketball Playoff her freshman year, Simmons helped her team to back-to-back quarterfinal appearances over the past two seasons. As a sophomore, she averaged 14.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Hodges, meanwhile, is from Evansville, Indiana, but is no stranger to central Illinois, having played at Pontiac Township High School in Pontiac, Illinois, until her family moved to Evansville after the first semester of the 2015-16 school year. The 5-foot-11 guard is in her senior season at Evansville Central High School, where she helped her team to regional and sectional titles while earning Second-Team All-Southern Indiana Athletic Conference accolades last season, after averaging 11.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 6.0 steals per game.
"It is always great to have local players stay home," Smith said. "I feel that Errin has the mindset, dedication and work ethic to come in and make an impact right away. She is a leader and a winner, who won't back down from anything or anyone. Erinn will be a combo guard for us. She pushes the ball and sees the floor very well. Erinn is also a versatile scorer, rebounder and a gritty defensive player."
While at Pontiac, Hodges played two years of varsity basketball and was selected First Team All-Corn Belt and Honorable Mention All-Area by The Pantagraph as a sophomore, after averaging 14.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 4.9 steals per game. She plans on majoring in criminal justice at Illinois State.
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