KIMBERLY (NBC 26) — After a long recruiting process, Kimberly standout Ava Van Vonderen has made her decision. The Class of 2027 forward announced she is staying in Wisconsin and committing to play college basketball at the University of Wisconsin.
“After many calls, for years and years since eighth grade, it's kind of nice to just have that off my chest,” Van Vonderen said.
Van Vonderen is one of the state’s top-ranked players, with offers from schools across the country, including Green Bay, Marquette, DePaul, Princeton and Butler.
“She’s a long skilled athlete who does all the little things, diving on the floor, doing the intangibles, and when you have your better players doing that, it's very helpful,” said Kimberly head coach Dave Lepisto.
It was the similarities between the Papermakers and Badgers programs that ultimately led to Van Vonderen’s decision.
“For me, mainly it was the culture. The culture is absolutely amazing there. Like what they're building there is astronomical and once I kind of got to see that, culture is a huge thing, obviously, here at Kimberly, and it was just awesome,” Van Vonderen said. “Their style of play is exactly how we play here at Kimberly, so I think it's just somewhere I'll fit in.”
Since announcing her commitment, Van Vonderen said her classmates and teammates have been incredibly supportive.
“Coming to school, everyone's like, 'Oh my gosh, congratulations.' I teach kids with intellectual disabilities, so when I went in there they had a whole thing set up for me and balloons and everything. It's just a great community we have here at Kimberly and I truly think that's going to carry over to the Badgers,” she said.
Van Vonderen becomes Kimberly’s second in-state Division I commit in the same class, joining teammate Haylie Dulas, who is headed to Marquette.
“I told them when I knew this was happening, I said I'm going to be front and center. I'll pay whatever it takes to get at midcourt to watch that Marquette, Wisconsin game when they play. I'm thrilled. To be able to have kids in-state is nice,” Lepisto said.
