Pepper Savings Bank has strengthened its lineup of new players in the 23-24 season.
On the 10th, the 2023-24 season KOVO female rookie player draft was held at the Mayfield Hotel in Gangseo.
This draft was also drawn in reverse order of performance, just like the 22-23 season. Therefore, Pepper Savings Bank, which was last in the league the previous season, received the highest probability of 35% of the lottery beads this time. And as expected, Gusul was selected as the first pick in the first round, but Kim Se-bin (Korea Expressway Corporation, 187cm, middle blocker), who was considered the best player in high school, could not be selected.
When free agency was released this year, Pepper Savings Bank recruited outside heater Park Jeong-ah from the road construction company. However, in a situation where a compensation player had to be given away, the starting setter Lee Go-eun was not designated as a protected player, and an incident occurred where he was given back to his former team, Korea Expressway Corporation.
In the end, Pepper Savings Bank was able to find Lee Go-eun only after giving up the first pick in the first round of the 23-24 season along with middle blocker Choi Ga-eun.
Accordingly, the Korea Expressway Corporation took over Pepper Savings Bank’s overall first-choice nomination and had the opportunity to take on the biggest fish, Kim Se-bin. Following the reverse sweep victory in the championship game the previous season, they also enjoyed the joy of embracing the biggest rookie.
However, Pepper Savings Bank’s new selection is worth noting in a different way. This is because four players, the largest number in the draft, were selected. Coach Joe Trinsey, who participated in this draft for the first time, selected two players in succession in the 1st and 7th positions of the second round. Attack and setter resources were supplemented by selecting Ryu Hye-sun (178.4cm, OP/OH) as the first pick in the second round and Su-bin Park (174.6cm, S) as the seventh pick.
Then, in the third round, Lee Joo-hyeon (162.5cm, S/L) was selected as the only player, and as a trainee player, Lee Chae-eun (first year of sports department at Gwangju Women’s University, 170cm, L), who was selected as the first college player, attracted attention. Gwangju is also home to Pepper Savings Bank. Chae-eun Lee shed tears of joy as she broke the preconceived notion that the rookie draft was nothing more than a college draft and succeeded in becoming a professional.
This move is a slightly different picture of resolution than Pepper Savings Bank’s rookie draft in the previous season.
Former coach Kim Hyeong-sil, who was at the helm of Pepper Savings Bank until the previous season, selected only two players, Yeom Eo-le-heung (195 cm, middle blocker) and Lee Min-seo (175 cm, aposite spiker), who were the biggest players, through the rookie draft. The club was free to nominate players, but the problem was that Pepper Savings Bank’s available resources at the time were quite thin.메이저사이트
Although Eorheung was the tallest player, he was not a resource that was evaluated as a quick match due to his slow speed, and Lee Min-seo was also an apogee, but he was a defensive player, so it was difficult to use him as a backup for Nia Reed, a foreign mercenary at the time. He later recruited trainee player Son Eun-jin (currently on the volleyball team at Gwangju Women’s University), but after three weeks, he was announced as a free player and ended his short professional career.
It is impossible to predict how Coach Joe Trinji will nurture the four ‘young chicks’ players selected this time in the future.
However, if you look at Pepper Savings Bank’s list of players this season, you can see that the number of new players, including new starting players such as Park Jeong-ah, Chae Seon-ah, Yasmin, and MJ, has increased significantly, making the player resources a bit thicker. In addition, middle blocker Ha Hye-jin, who endured a long shoulder injury rehabilitation, appeared starting from the 2023 Gumi Dodram Cup.
If you look at the picks of Coach Joe Trinji, who had his first experience selecting rookies through this event, there are two players who are multi-position players. Ryu Hye-sun can play both an opposite spiker and an outside hitter, and Joo-hyun Lee can also be used as both a setter and libero.
Regarding this, Coach Joe Trinji said, “I like players who are capable in many fields,” and added, “I think only those who have good athletic ability and can play multiple positions can advance to the pro level and fill the needs of the team.” .
In addition, regarding Lee Chae-eun, who was selected as a college player, he added, “I selected him after paying attention to his stable receiving ability in the pre-test.”
Meanwhile, Pepper Savings Bank is expected to play its first game of the season on October 15th against Hyundai Engineering & Construction in Suwon. The season opening match between Korea Expressway Corporation and Heungkuk Life Insurance will be held on the 14th.