The top recruit for the women’s basketball team next season bears a household name to fans of college athletics.
Sarah Paulus, the headliner of Joe Frager’s first recruiting class as the head coach, will become the seventh sibling in her family to play a college-level sport. From Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, N.Y., Paulus averaged 13.8 points per game and led her team with 117 assists last season as a junior.
“The thing about Sarah is that she’s a basketball kid,” said Frager. “She shoots the ball well and sees the floor well.”
Paulus is last in the long line of notable athletes in her family. Her four oldest brothers all attended Georgetown on football scholarships. Her fifth brother, Greg, is currently a junior at Duke, where he is the starting point guard for the No. 2-ranked team in the country. Her closest brother in age, Michael, is a freshman quarterback at North Carolina.
“We’re a competitive family,” said Sarah. “We’re pretty close, and we all support each other.”
Sarah, much like her brother Greg, is a pass-first point guard who has the ability to score. In fact, in describing Sarah, Greg said he could not help but notice their similarities.
“She plays up-tempo,” he said. “She’s at her best when she’s in transition, has space, and can use her vision. Sounds a lot like me, doesn’t it?”
Sarah and Greg have formed a special brother-sister relationship as the only two of their siblings to focus on basketball.
“It definitely bonded us in a way,” Sarah said. “Greg’s just one of those people you can talk to about anything.”
Their relationship has grown over the last couple of years as they spent a lot of time together before Greg went to college. Now, when he comes home, they go to the gym together and work on different drills to improve both of their games. Greg made it a point to help Sarah any way that he could throughout her recruiting process because he had been through it himself.
The recruiting process had its ups and downs for Sarah, but she said she is happy with the decision she made.
“At times the recruiting process was stressful, but when I found a place I liked, it was fun,” she said.
Sarah chose Fairfield over Holy Cross and MAAC rival Marist.
“The school [Fairfield] is gorgeous,” she said. “I just felt at home.”
While Sarah is known for being selfless on the court, it is her generosity off the court that sticks out the most.
“Sarah is the nicest person you’ll ever meet,” said Greg. “She’ll go out of her way for anybody.”
However, Sarah said she is able to leave that demeanor on the sidelines.
“For me, you be the best person you can be off the court,” said Sarah. “And then on the court, the competitive juices just kick in.”
Greg said her family situation helped her fiery play on the court.
“Growing up in a competitive family, you’re going to get that toughness,” said Greg.
Sarah will attend classes at Fairfield this summer to get a head start on her academics. She plans on majoring in either education or communications.
Frager, heralded as a top recruiter, made a big splash in signing her, and Sarah said she intends to make an equally big splash on the court right away.
“She’ll be given the opportunity to compete for significant minutes right away,” said Frager. “What better person to have as your first recruit.”
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