Baldwin High’s phenomenal volleyball senior Emily Brown can now discard the loads of letters, e-mails and answering machine messages she’s been getting for too long now.
She’s made up her mind: She’s going to be a Jayhawk.
The 6-foot-2 setter orally committed to Kansas University Monday night, ending hectic and nonstop attention from scores of college coaches nationwide trying to lure her to their campuses.
She had said she wanted to make the decision before school started, and her final three choices were Kansas, Missouri and national powerhouse Nebraska.
In the end, her Jayhawk roots were too strong to ignore. Her mother, Jill Huntsinger Brown, Baldwin’s volleyball coach, and aunt, Jo Huntsinger, Lawrence High’s volleyball coach, both played at KU. Emily attended KU camps for years as a youngster.
“My family’s very close,” Emily Brown said. “Everybody lives around here. They’ve supported me ever since I played in junior high.”
As a junior, Brown dished out 354 assists, but also led the Frontier League with 411 kills. She’s been a three-time all-league selection, and last year led Baldwin to a 31-10 record and its first state tournament appearance in three decades.
Her height, court intelligence and versatility caught the attention of a large number of college coaches.
“She probably heard from 100 schools,” Jill Brown said. “But she’s always been a KU fan.”
Brown soon will join a respectable list of area graduates that currently are playing for KU, including former Lawrence High setter Ashley Bechard and Wellsville graduate Jill Dorsey.
Last year, the Jayhawks finished 19-10, and just missed an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Next year, KU coach Ray Bechard gladly will have Brown on his side of the net.
“He was pretty excited,” Brown said of Bechard’s reaction. “Of course, I did make him wait for a couple of years.”
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