Girls soccer: Richmond-Burton’s Layne Frericks commits to Indiana State

All the signs pointed to Indiana State for Richmond-Burton soccer player Layne Frericks.

Frericks, a senior, considered teams at all collegiate levels since she started her recruitment process, but Indiana State had the clear advantage in every detail.

So why wait?

Frericks announced her commitment to the Sycamores on Monday.

“It felt like a really good fit for me,” Frericks said. “The coaches, the girls, where it’s located. Everything.”

Frericks started talking to the Indiana State coaching staff during her junior year high school season. The staff saw Frericks compete at a showcase and liked the way she played.

Once she visited campus, her recruitment started to get clearer. Frericks loved the campus, its close location to her older sister Reese, who will play at Southern Indiana this year, and how relatively close it was to home.

The coaching staff and the Sycamores’ culture made a huge impression on her, as well. She liked how nice the coaches were and how much the current players loved playing for the program.

Frericks considered schools such as Eastern Illinois, Concordia University, St. Paul, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Milikin and Southern Indiana, but Indiana State’s offer was too good to pass up.

The Sycamores give her an opportunity to play Division I soccer.

“You really do club and everything just for that moment, picking a school is like the biggest decision you’re going to make when you’re a young kid,” Frericks said. “It felt really exciting.”

Frericks has been one of the top players in McHenry County since she started competing as a freshman. She’s been on the Northwest Herald All-Area first team all three seasons and scored 55 goals during her career.

R-B coach Casey DeCaluwe thinks Frericks will be a perfect fit for Indiana State and her game will translate well to college. Frericks’ physicality and 5-foot-7 frame will help keep up with the pace of D-I soccer while her footwork and ability to read the game will help her make a difference for Indiana State.

“She’s the ultimate competitor,” DeCaluwe said. “So I think she’s going to fit really well in the Division I game.”

Frericks is excited to focus on playing soccer her senior season instead of deciding where to go to college. She’s been a part of the Rockets’ recent run of success, playing in two supersectional matches and a state title match in three seasons.

After helping R-B to historic seasons during her run, Frericks knows the goal of winning a state championship is the only thing left to do before heading to Indiana State.

“We know what we want this year,” Frericks said. “We’ve made our point, we just want to keep on continuing on. We all want the same thing. I’m super excited.”