Ohio University “Felt Like Home” for Battle Creek’s Tria McLean

In the past 12-15 months, Battle Creek junior Tria McLean has gone from an intriguing athlete playing volleyball to one of the most coveted setters in the 2020 class.

She is officially off the market now, though, as McLean announced on Saturday her commitment to Ohio University. 

I was interested in going out-of-state for college and wanted to play for a highly competitive program and Ohio was a great fit for me right from the start,” McLean said. “I really love the program at Ohio. The coaching staff is amazing and all of the players are very welcoming and competitive. Whenever the players talked about their team or the coaching staff they referred to is as one big family, and I loved that.”

McLean, 5’11, said she was considering a a range D1 schools in Utah, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin, but ultimately went with Ohio because she loved to program, academics and the city of Athens, OH. 

“I immediately loved the Ohio campus in Athens. It’s beautiful. It felt like home the minute I stepped on campus,” she said. “Academically, Ohio will be a great fit for me. It is a selective school and I have high academic goals. It’s got great programs to help me prepare for health/medical sciences.”

McLean is still considered a really raw volleyball player and setter. She really didn’t begin setting regularly at a high level until this past club season when preseason injuries to her team at Nebraska Elite created the need for her to be a full-time setter. It’s her athletic ability and the fact she still has a lot of room to grow as a setter that appealed to a lot of college coaches. 

“I think Ohio is excited about my potential and my athleticism,” she said. “I look forward to continuing to grow at Nebraska Elite the next two years before I head off to be an official Bobcat.”

McLean is the first player from Nebraska to commit to Ohio since former all-state outside Carley Remmers of Freeman went there. Remmers will be a redshirt-junior at Ohio this fall. Ohio also will play at Nebraska this fall as part of the Ameritas Players Challenge. 

Last season at Battle Creek, McLean had 419 assists (5.0 per set) to go along with 157 kills and 149 digs.