College of St. Mary Snags 3 of NE Top 2018 Recruits

<p>The Great Plains Athletic Conference, or more commonly referred to as the GPAC, is notoriously the most competitive league for women’s volleyball in the NAIA. Within the conference are regular competitors in the NAIA National Tournament as five of the eleven teams in the conference ended the 2017 season in the top 25 rankings. On the bottom half of the conference, there are the teams waiting for their opportunity to break through. The College of St. Mary in Omaha is looking to do just that.</p> <p>Newly appointed head coach, Rick Pruett, aspires to become a top contender in the conference. The Flames ended the season at the bottom of the conference with an overall 8-19 record. However, Pruett is encouraged as his recruiting endeavors have been very successful, landing 13 new players for the 2018 season: 2 transfers and 11 incoming freshmen. Pruett states, “Our 2018 recruiting class is a very talented group of young ladies. Having players that have competed at a high level and been very successful will really add to the depth of our team and help us compete in the GPAC.” Three of these incoming freshmen recruits have been tabbed as Nebraska’s 2018 ranked high school players: <strong>Kinsley Tingelhoff, June Johnson, and Makenna Freeman</strong>.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/kinsley.jpg"></a><strong>#32 Kinsley Tingelhoff</strong></p> <p>Tingelhoff is a 5’7” setter who led Wahoo High School to their 2017 C1 State Championship by breaking the career assist record in class C1 with 3,896. Pruett is excited to have the future Flame on-board stating, “She is talented, competitive, and a leader. She will come in and do great things for our program.”</p> <p>The College of St. Mary was an easy choice for the four-time 1^st Team All-Conference player, stating, “CSM has an amazing occupational therapy program which really drew my interest towards the school. Also, they recently got a new coach who is working on rebuilding the program and I wanted to be a part of that. Coach Pruett really sold me on his vision for the future of the program. He is an excellent recruiter and coach as shown by his successes he had while coaching at Morningside.”</p> <p>Tingelhoff is capping off her high school career by playing club with Club Legacy 18 ROX.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p></p> <p><strong>#75 June Johnson</strong></p> <p>Johnson is a 5’9” outside who led Mead High School to the Nebraska D2 State High School Tournament last season with 716 career kills and 1,092 career digs. Pruett states, “She is very athletic, competitive, quick, and can make a defensive play. She’s a great all-around player and a leader on the court.”</p> <p>Four-time Omaha World Herald D2 All-State selection, Johnson, was drawn to College of St. Mary’s potential, stating, “I decided on CSM because I knew they were starting to rebuild their volleyball program and I wanted to be a part of that. I have heard nothing but great things about the coaches and players there. I was also drawn to the small school atmosphere as I know it won’t be a big adjustment for me.”</p> <p>On top of being a versatile all-around player, June plays multiple sports in high school which limits her availability to play club.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><a href="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/makenna.jpg"></a>#149 Makenna Freeman</strong></p> <p>Freeman is a 5’10” outside from Omaha Westside High School, finishing her career with 503 kills and 522 digs. A member of the 2017 All-State Nebraska team, Freeman impresses Pruett with her versatility, stating, “Makenna is a big, physical outside hitter who can play six rotations. She has a wide range of shots and is extremely competitive.”</p> <p>Several factors lead Freeman to the College of St. Mary, “I decided on CSM because of their strong academic tradition and the future Coach Pruett has planned for the Flames volleyball program.”</p> <p>Freeman is capping off her high school career by playing club for Nebraska Elite 18 Envy, who recently competed in the 18 American division at the USAV Junior National Tournament in Anaheim, California.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>With a stacked roster of incoming talented players, CSM is looking to assert their force in the GPAC this fall. “One really important quality that these three will bring is that they come from winning club and high school programs. They are all competitive and know how to win,” says Pruett.</p>