Huskers land nationally ranked recruiting class

The Nebraska women’s basketball team received National Letters of Intent from four standout high school seniors from Iowa, Minnesota and Indiana on the first day of the early signing period.

Nebraska’s recruiting class was ranked No. 20 in the nation by the ESPN rankings at the start of the early signing period. Coach Amy Williams’ first Nebraska class, which consisted of current Husker freshmen Taylor Kissinger and Kate Cain, was also ranked No. 20 nationally, giving the second-year Husker head coach and her staff back-to-back top-20 classes.

The first commitment to the Huskers in this year’s class, Ashtyn Veerbeek made her commitment to Nebraska in December of 2016. The 6-2 forward out of Western Christian High School in Hull, Iowa, is ranked as the No. 55 player in the nation by Blue Star, No. 66 by Prospects Nation and No. 68 by ESPN, which also ranked Veerbeek as the No. 9 forward in the Class of 2018.

The Sioux Center native earned first-team Iowa Class 2A honors as a junior in 2016-17. She led Western Christian to an Iowa Class 2A state title in 2017. Veerbeek averaged 22.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game while shooting 80.3 percent from the free throw line as a junior.

Nebraska’s second commit to the class, Kayla Mershon will come to Lincoln as one of the top players in the state of Minnesota. The 6-3 forward from Chanhassen, Minn., who committed to the Huskers in February of 2017, was ranked as the No. 132 overall player in the nation by Prospects Nation and the No. 14 wing nationally by ESPN. As a junior, Mershon averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds in 2016-17. As a sophomore, she help Minnetonka High School to its first-ever state championship in 2016.

A North Tartan club teammate of Mershon’s, guard Sam Haiby committed to the Huskers in mid-May of 2017. A 5-9 guard, Haiby averaged 22.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 4.1 steals as a junior for Class 4A Moorhead High School in 2016-17. Haiby, who was ranked as the No. 122 player in the country by Prospects Nation, the No. 125 player by Blue Star and the No. 28 guard nationally by ESPN, enters her senior season with 1,856 career points.

Leigha Brown, a 6-1 guard out of DeKalb High School in Indiana, rounds out Nebraska’s class. Brown, who also committed to the Huskers in May, averaged 22.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season as a first-team Class 4A choice and an Supreme 15 Underclass All-State selection in 2016-17. She was ranked as the No. 21 forward nationally by ESPN.

“We are really excited about this entire group of high-achieving young women,” said Williams . “They not only have had strong careers so far, but they are all on track to have great senior seasons.

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