Out-of-State Programs Who Have Built a Strong Nebraska Pipeline

With a lot of the top uncommitted players in the state heading out in a few weeks to the USAV and AAU national championships, expect several to get offered and many to make commitments between nationals and the start of the high school season. While many of the state's college programs at all levels have traditionally filled their programs with in-state talent, as the game continues to grow and get better, more and more programs are building pipelines into the state to take advantage of the plethora of talent the Cornhusker State has to offer. Here is the, in my opinion, top program in each of the bordering states that has been doing the best job of building that pipeline into the state. Iowa State - This really isn't that much of a surprise, considering head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch's strong local ties, but it seems the Cyclones have been crossing the border a little more lately. I'm actually somewhat surprised the Cyclones haven't gotten more Nebraska kids, considering it's only a 3-4 hour drive from 90% of the population in the state and plays in a power conference. Millard West libero Jaden Centeno is headed to Ames this fall and Alliance middle Jordan Hopp will be going there in the summer of 2020. While there has been a little bit of lull in Nebraska kids on the Cyclones roster lately, there have still been plenty this decade, such as Samara West (Omaha North), Bria Rasmussen (Grand Island), Tenisha Matlock (North Platte), Jamie Straube (Johnson County Central), Kelsey Petersen (Kearney), Carly Jensen (Millard North) and Caitlin Mahoney (Omaha Marian). Northwest Missouri State - The University of Missouri has had some good local talent but that has tailed off lately and Rockhurst always seems to nab a good player every year, but Northwest Missouri State has always been a sleeping giant for recruiting the state and it looks like the Bearcats have started to wake up. It's a Division II program just about two hours from both Omaha and Lincoln. After having many Nebraska kids on her roster in the early 2010s, it started to tail off a bit. But, with four big-time talents going to Maryville from Nebraska this fall in Jaden Ferguson (Lincoln Southwest), Sydney McDermott (Skutt Catholic), Alyssa Rezac (Bishop Neumann) and Emmy Grant (Millard North) and the commitment from Omaha Marian 2020 OH Peyton Kirchhoefer, the Bearcats will have a distinct Nebraska flavor in the coming years. Other players from Nebraska to play at Northwest Missouri State this decade include: Andrea Potter (Omaha Mercy), Whitney Mason (Lincoln Southwest), Rachel Nisl (Omaha Gross), Sara Falcone (Omaha Gross), Brook Bartosh (Elkhorn), Bailey Vance (Papio South), Mackie Keller (Kearney), Kelsi Kuhn (Gretna), Gabby Kuhl (Lincoln Pius X), Lindsey Schlake (Beatrice), Kirsten Hudgens (Papio South), Shelby Duren (Skutt Catholic), Janaya Fox (Bellevue East), Paige Tenske (Omaha Burke), Megan Stilmock (Ralston), Maddy Bruder (Norris) and Eran Rose-Gronewold (Waverly). Washburn University - Nobody in Kansas has come remotely close to building the kind of pipeline into Nebraska over the past decade the way Washburn has. All Washburn did last year was beat four straight ranked teams in the NCAA Division II tournament to get to the national championship match, where it lost to The University of Tampa. Washburn doesn't offer a ton of Nebraska kids, but the ones it does - and the ones it gets - have been home runs as of late. Two Nebraska kids were on the court for Washburn during the national championship - Shayla Conner (Kearney Catholic) and Makayla Maxwell (Millard North) while Madison Johnson (Millard North), Halle Meister (Omaha Roncalli) and Sydney Fitzgibbons (Papillion-LaVista) were on the team as well. Washburn has St. Paul's Hayley Fox coming this fall and has a commitment from Papillion-LaVista's Chloe Paschal for 2020. Other players from Nebraska to play at Washburn this decade include: Jessica Fey (Crete), Mollie Lacy (Lincoln Pius X), Tessa Brophy (Papillion-LaVista South), Courtney Wallman (Beatrice), Claire White (Exeter-Milligan), Megan Stroyek (Papillion-LaVista South) and Leanna Willer (Elkhorn). Northern Colorado - Frankly, I'm pretty surprised that most of the Division I and II programs in Colorado haven't really done much in the way of creating a pipeline to Nebraska with the exception of Northern Colorado. There has been a steady stream of talent heading to Northern Colorado for a couple years now and I can't say that I see it slowing down a whole lot. Norris setter Michaela Boon is heading to Greely, Colorado, this fall and Northern Colorado also has a commitment from 2020 libero Kenedy Schaecher of Gretna. There wasn't a lot of players from Nebraska heading to Northern Colorado in the early 2010s, but there has been a steady stream in the last four or five years - and it's some really good talent heading that way. Early in the decade, Jill Dawson of Lincoln Southwest, Andrea Spaustat of Omaha Marian and Makenna Meier of Waverly played at Northern Colorado, but last year's team included five players from the state, including: Taylor Els (Lincoln Southwest), Jadyn McCartney (Chadron), Bailee Sterling (Kearney), Lauren Hinrichs (Donipahn-Trumbull via transfer from Wichita State) and Brittany Lawrence (North Platte St. Patrick's via grad transfer from Creighton). Wyoming - Well, honestly, if you're going to play college volleyball in Wyoming, the University of Wyoming is about your only choice. The Cowboys have come into Nebraska a handful of times over the past 10 years to get local kids, but probably not as often as it should. The Cowboys got two good ones coming in this fall in Hailey Zuroske of Omaha Marian and Emersen Cyza of Alliance. Former Gretna standout Halie McArdle will be a senior this year for Wyoming while Nicole Walker (Omaha Burke) and Dani Root (Waverly via transfer from West Virginia) have also played at Wyoming. South Dakota - The best compliment I can give to South Dakota is that it has been very frustrating watching the Yotes come in and get great talent from Nebraska over the years. Credit to coach Leanne Williamson and assistant Michael Runde for using Nebraska kids to help build a program that came back to Nebraska to play in the NCAA Tournament last fall at Creighton. The Yotes really planted a flag in Nebraska when they snagged Elizabeth Loschen out of Omaha Marian and then followed that up by getting Madison Jurgens out of Diller-Odell. Both players played huge roles in South Dakota winning the Summit League and getting the team to the NCAA Tournament. This year they added Omaha Marian's Maddie Wiedenfeld (via a transfer from New Hampshire) and more reinforcements from Nebraska are on their way next summer with the commitment of three of the top 13 players in the state's class of 2020 in Sidney's Mattie Johnson, Lincoln East's Atley Carey and Papillion-LaVista's Brooklyn Schram. Over the past decade several other Nebraska players have been at South Dakota, including: Tanhee Reed (Pierce), Kristen Kritenbrink (Gretna), Kendall Kritenbrink (Omaha Gross), Riley Haug (Gretna), Katie Bunkers (Columbus Lakeview), Kelsey Billof (Lawrence-Nelson), Molly Schiermeyer (Fremont) and Kiley Hixson (Aurora).