Baldwin ? A year ago, deciding where to play college volleyball was a no-brainer for Emily Brown.
The Baldwin High standout, who will start her senior year this fall, has been a life-long Jayhawk. Brown attended volleyball camps at Kansas University, has seen plenty of games at the Horejsi Center and her mom, Jill Huntsinger Brown, lettered at KU in 1979.
But that was before Missouri and Nebraska — and the rest of the country — started wooing the 6-foot-2 setter.
Schools like Duke and Florida State have shown interest, and Brown made a visit to Berkeley to visit the University of California.
It has all been a little overwhelming for Brown, who would like to settle on a college before high school starts in late August.
She knows she has to decide, but this has been tough.
“I’m just not good at making decisions,” Brown said. “I just don’t know where I want to go, yet.”
All the attention has been surprising to her and her family, which experienced something similar with her brother, Eric, a javelin thrower who chose Arkansas.
“Yeah, it’s … yeah,” Jill said, the amazement obvious in her voice. “We went through it a little bit with Eric, but with Emily it’s been unbelievable.
“I’m not sure we were prepared for what’s happened.”
Still, even with the possibility of playing on either coast, the decision is coming down to KU, MU and NU.
And Emily says it’s dead heat.
“It’s 33.3333 percent on everything,” she said.
Sunday, her club team, Sport2Sport, played an informal scrimmage against Team K.C. Coaches from Kansas and Missouri came to watch, and a Nebraska coach was supposed to fly down, but couldn’t make it.
Frankly, Emily is a little embarrassed by all the attention, but has enjoyed most of the recruitment process, like her visits Friday and Tuesday to the Nebraska campus at Lincoln.
“It was very fun,” she said. “I was very impressed with the place they play. It’s huge, like Allen Fieldhouse, but it’s closer to the court. And they fill it up. They’ve had, like, 26 straight sellouts.”
Each program wants her for a different reason, too. Make no mistake, when she chooses a school, those reasons could be big.
The Cornhuskers want her to set and hit. Missouri wants to train her as a setter. The Jayhawks just want her to hit.
“Yeah, and that’ll probably play into the decision,” she said. “But I need to figure out what (position) I want to do.”
Schools can start calling Emily today. Up till now, she has only received letters and lots of e-mail.
When that final push starts, she knows it’ll get tougher to make a decision. By the time high school starts, she’ll be worn out.
“Everybody keeps telling me it’s my choice,” Brown said. “They say, ‘Don’t come here because we want you, come because you want to.’ I don’t know.
“You want to choose for me?” she quipped.
Baldwin ? A year ago, deciding where to play college volleyball was a no-brainer for Emily Brown.
The Baldwin High standout, who will start her senior year this fall, has been a life-long Jayhawk. Brown attended volleyball camps at Kansas University, has seen plenty of games at the Horejsi Center and her mom, Jill Huntsinger Brown, lettered at KU in 1979.
But that was before Missouri and Nebraska — and the rest of the country — started wooing the 6-foot-2 setter.
Schools like Duke and Florida State have shown interest, and Brown made a visit to Berkeley to visit the University of California.
It has all been a little overwhelming for Brown, who would like to settle on a college before high school starts in late August.
She knows she has to decide, but this has been tough.
“I’m just not good at making decisions,” Brown said. “I just don’t know where I want to go, yet.”
All the attention has been surprising to her and her family, which experienced something similar with her brother, Eric, a javelin thrower who chose Arkansas.
“Yeah, it’s … yeah,” Jill said, the amazement obvious in her voice. “We went through it a little bit with Eric, but with Emily it’s been unbelievable.
“I’m not sure we were prepared for what’s happened.”
Still, even with the possibility of playing on either coast, the decision is coming down to KU, MU and NU.
And Emily says it’s dead heat.
“It’s 33.3333 percent on everything,” she said.
Sunday, her club team, Sport2Sport, played an informal scrimmage against Team K.C. Coaches from Kansas and Missouri came to watch, and a Nebraska coach was supposed to fly down, but couldn’t make it.
Frankly, Emily is a little embarrassed by all the attention, but has enjoyed most of the recruitment process, like her visits Friday and Tuesday to the Nebraska campus at Lincoln.
“It was very fun,” she said. “I was very impressed with the place they play. It’s huge, like Allen Fieldhouse, but it’s closer to the court. And they fill it up. They’ve had, like, 26 straight sellouts.”
Each program wants her for a different reason, too. Make no mistake, when she chooses a school, those reasons could be big.
The Cornhuskers want her to set and hit. Missouri wants to train her as a setter. The Jayhawks just want her to hit.
“Yeah, and that’ll probably play into the decision,” she said. “But I need to figure out what (position) I want to do.”
Schools can start calling Emily today. Up till now, she has only received letters and lots of e-mail.
When that final push starts, she knows it’ll get tougher to make a decision. By the time high school starts, she’ll be worn out.
“Everybody keeps telling me it’s my choice,” Brown said. “They say, ‘Don’t come here because we want you, come because you want to.’ I don’t know.
“You want to choose for me?” she quipped.
