Illinois women’s basketball head coach Matt Bollant didn’t take long to bring in a strong recruiting class. On Wednesday, Illinois announced the addition of six recruits to the class of 2013, which is rated well by several ranking systems.

Collegiate Girls Basketball Report ranks Illlinois’ class fourth in the Big Ten and 25th in the nation. Blue Star places Illinois fourth in the Big Ten and 32nd nationally. Bolingbrook High School product Kennedy Cattenhead leads the class. According to CGBR, the combo guard, who has already won two state titles, is the No. 84-ranked player in the nation,

But the trend of Chicago area recruiting doesn’t end with Cattenhead.

Leah Bolton, Jacqui Grant and Sarah Livingston also hail from Illinois in this recruiting class. Bolton, a forward who averaged 14.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season, was named second-team all-state by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. The Marist High School product will be able to play at both forward spots.

Grant, ranked 156th in her class, brings major size to Illinois. The 6-foot-3 forward led Maine South High School to a third-place finish at the 2011 Class 4A state tournament. Grant averaged 13.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game last season. 

Livingston, the Morton High School product, is the 93rd-ranked player this year. The 6-foot-3 forward is the sister of NBA veteran Shaun Livingston. Sarah adds versatility to the class, averaging 11.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last year. She dished out 61 assists and totaled 83 blocks and 87 steals during the 2011-12 season. Bollant said he expects Livingston to play center for the Illini.

Bollant also proved his ability to recruit out-of-state. The Illini signed point guard Taylor Gleason, from Michigan, and guard Mikaala Shackleford, from Minnesota. Gleason is the No. 6-ranked player out of Michigan, already boasting a high school state championship and five AAU championships. 

Shackleford, the 38th-ranked player at her position according to ESPN HoopGurlz, averaged 9.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game while at Plymouth High School in Minnesota. Shackleford is currently recovering from a torn ACL she suffered in January.

Bolllant gave high praise to his first class at Illinois.

“We have a diverse group with kids that can do different things. What we have in all of them is high character and high integrity and kids that are going to come here and get better,” Bollant said in a press release. “We wanted to recruit the state and feel we have four of the top-six or -seven kids in Illinois.”

Michael can be reached at [email protected] and @m_dubb.