Committed! UW WBB Huskies Land 6’4″ International Target Annika Soltau

Annika Soltau is an experienced international player that has participated in FIBA Europe tournaments representing Germany.

At 6’4″ Soltau has a long and lean, athletic build with a long arms and a large wingspan.

Annika Soltau is a multi-skilled and versatile wing forward that demonstrates inside-outside ability on the offensive end, i.e., with the ability to take defenders off-the-dribble from the wing; knock down the open three-pointer; as well as, being a confident ballhandler that can finish on the fastbreak.

Soltau also has the length and timing to be a good shot blocker and rebounder on the college level.

In the July 2022, Soltau played in the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup — where she averaged 20.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2 assists over six games.

Excellent individual performance by Annika Soltau here in Debrecen

Just dropped 33 points 14 rebounds 3 ast 4 steals in 34 mins action as
???????? beat ???????? 61-46 #Fibau17 World Cup pic.twitter.com/srL3PzKB58

— Blue Star Europe (@Bluestareurope) July 13, 2022

In the 2021 FIBA U16 Women’s European Challengers tournament ​, Soltau averaged 17.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in five games.

Annika Soltau’s commitment comes at an opportune time for the Huskies that have not secured any frontcourt help from this year’s NCAA transfer portal, despite losing frontcourt stalwarts Haley Van Dyke and Darcy Rees to graduation.

Soltau is a high impact recruit that will be “plug and play” in that she has the experience, talent and size to help the Dawgs immediately.

Soltau’s style of play will allow her to play with any combination of Washington’s most recent recruiting classes, i.e., UW’s 2022 recruits (Hannah Stines, Elle Ladine, Teagan Brown and Shayla Gillmer), as well as Washington’s 2023 recruits (Sayvia Sellers, Chloe Briggs, Ari Long and Olivia Anderson).

With a strong player development trajectory, Soltau projects as an eventual starter to play alongside Dalayah Daniels — giving the Dawgs a versatile pair of 6’4″ forwards that would create matchup nightmares for UW opponents.

At a minimum, Annika Soltau could be a taller Haley Van Dyke type of player (HVD 2.0).

However, Soltau’s unusual combination of wing skills and post-player size suggests she is a hybrid player with unlimited potential that could develop into an elite college player (with significant development, including strength and conditioning).

The addition of Soltau also alleviates concerns that the Huskies will be undersized in the frontcourt.

Yet we can still anticipate that UW’s offensive emphasis will be on three-point shooting, motion offense and opportunistic up-tempo play.

The Huskies recruiting success, led by UW Head Coach Tina Langley and Katie Faulkner, continues to energize Washington’s Women’s Basketball program with an influx of new talent that should translate to more success on the court.

GO DAWGS!