Geneva's Yelle chooses Ohio University

The Geneva girls basketball program is becoming a Division I factory.

Junior point guard Kat Yelle committed to Ohio University this week. She joins graduated guard Taylor Whitley, who is starting her career at Indiana State this fall,

Yelle made her decision Tuesday on an unofficial visit to the school located in Akron, Ohio.

"I didn't go in thinking I'd commit this early," Yelle said. "But by lunchtime I was sold. I loved the school, they have a sports broadcasting program ranked No. 4 in the country, and I just bonded really well with the coach (Sameeka Randle)."

Randle played point guard for Tennessee under Pat Summit. She was a two-time All-American and national champion and had a four-year WNBA career. "She played Division I and played point guard that's what really sets her apart (from some other coaches)," Yelle said. "We really hit it off. And the campus was really pretty, in the foothills."

Ohio University coaches have been following Yelle all summer, especially after she dropped 30 points at a tournament in Cincinnati over the Fourth of July holiday. Yelle said she was only home five or six days in July while traveling to different tournaments.

Yelle started all year as a sophomore last year on a Geneva team that went 32-2 and finished fourth in Class 4A, the first Vikings team ever to reach state.

Yelle saved some of her best games for the postseason, scoring 20 points in a sectional win over Elk Grove and 25 in the sectional championship game Lake Park. She finished the year averaging just under 10 points a game.

Expect that number to soar this year. Judging either from her increased offense in the postseason, or her improved scoring this summer, Yelle is poised for a breakout junior season.

"I'm really excited to try to get back to state," Yelle said. "All the girls are. I want to get better on my shot, my defense and my communication with my teammates."

Recruited by most of the MAC schools, especially Bowling Green and Ball State, Yelle started to get attention from bigger schools this summer while playing for the Illinois Hustle. North Carolina, Iowa and Minnesota were some of the larger schools that showed interest.

But Randle and her staff followed Yelle the most and were rewarded with the early commitment. Besides being impressed with the basketball program on her visit, Yelle liked Ohio's sports broadcasting and journalism program.

"Sports has always been something that interested me," Yelle said. "I thought it would be a career doing something that I love."

Makes sense. Just look how much success she's had playing her favorite sport.