Jan. 16, 2007
Atlanta – Yellow Jackets add six-foot freshman forward Amy Horton to their roster announced head coach MaChelle Joseph Tuesday. The newest member of the Yellow Jacket squad joined the team on the bench for Monday’s 52-37 win over Miami.
The Tallapoosa, Ga. native spent her first college semester in Beverly Hills, Calif. as a member of the UCLA Bruins but says homesickness brought her back to the Deep South.
“I love everyone at UCLA and I’m definitely going to miss them,” said Horton. “But it was just so hard to be so far from home. It really took a toll on me.
“I’m very close with my mom and it will be great to have my family at our games. They’ve only been able to see me play a couple times in college.”
Horton played in 16 games for UCLA averaging 11.1 minutes of playing time and 2.6 PPG. Horton’s season high in scoring was against Oklahoma when she scored nine points in 15 minutes.
As a senior at Haralson County High School, which is about 50 miles west of Atlanta, Horton averaged 37 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Her impressive scoring average was third-best in the nation and landed her three Georgia All-State selections as well as adidas All-America honors and a Parade All-America Honorable Mention. She was named the 2006 Most Valuable Player at the adidas All-American Camp. Horton finished her prep career as her high school’s all-time leading scorer and saw her No. 12 jersey retired after her senior season.
Because of NCAA regulations, Horton will not be eligible to receive transportation expenses for practice or competition for one academic year, which consists of the 2007 spring and fall semesters. However, she is eligible to participate in practice sessions conducted on the Georgia Tech campus, according to the school’s NCAA compliance officials.
“We are very excited to welcome Amy home to Georgia Tech,” said Joseph. “We recruited her throughout her high school career and feel that she will have a tremendous impact on our program. Amy will give us a shooting guard with the size and ability to compete with the best teams in the ACC.”
Horton will join an eighth-ranked 2007 freshman class that includes four players that rank among the nation’s top 25 at their positions and a fellow adidas All-American.
“With the addition of Amy Horton, there is no doubt that this recruiting class is the most talented, top to bottom, in the history of our program,” said Joseph.
