Bartlett's Gulczynski verbally commits to Wisconsin
When it feels right, it feels right. And a trip to Madison and the University of Wisconsin felt right to Bartlett senior girls basketball standout Jacki Gulczynski.
Gulczynski, the honorary co-captain of the Daily Herald's Fox Valley all-area team last season, verbally committed late Saturday night to play for Wisconsin and coach Lisa Stone.
"I couldn't be happier about it," said the 6-foot-1 Gulczynski. "I fell in love with everything. Everything was good and it just felt right."
Gulczynski chose Wisconsin over nearly 50 schools that offered her a scholarship, a list that included Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Princeton, Indiana, West Virginia, Kansas State and DePaul, among others.
"She worked very hard to get to this spot," said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna. "I know Jacki and her family did a lot of research. They did a lot of camps and took a lot of visits and I think Wisconsin is a great place for her."
Gulczynski, a left-handed shooter, has extended her game the past two seasons to become an inside and outside threat. Last season, she averaged 17.8 points and 9.2 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line in leading the Hawks to a 21-10 season that ended with a sectional final loss to Fenwick. The reigning Upstate Eight Conference Player of the Year, she is one of the top players in the state returning this season and will lead a Bartlett team that lost only one senior from last year's team. She enters her senior campaign with 1,270 career points and 735 rebounds.
The daughter of Mike and Jackie Gulczynski, she had a stellar summer playing for coach Tom Hohenadel's Rising Stars Elite AAU team as her stock rose among college coaches watching her.
At Wisconsin, Gulczynski will join a program that earned an NCAA Tournament berth last season, losing to Vermont in the first round. The Badgers finished 21-11 under Stone, who is now entering her eighth season in Madison. Wisconsin has made postseason appearances in all four of Stone's previous seasons. She was named Big Ten Coach of the Year last season.
"The coaching staff was very nice and they prepared well," said Sarna of Gulczynski's visit to Madison. "They liked Jacki as a player and as a person. Jacki wants to study engineering and they have a solid engineering program and a good basketball team."
Gulczynski, a three-time all-conference and all-area player, is a student of Bartlett's Academy of Math, Science and High Technology and sports a 4.3 GPA on a 4.0 scale. She scored 28 on her ACT.
On the court, Gulczynski just wants to be a contributor to Wisconsin's success.
"I want to be a player that can impact the team," she said. "My plan is to go in there and be whatever kind of player they want me to be."
And being close to home won't hurt either, especially to Sarna, who made regular trips to South Bend, Ind., to see former Bartlett great Lindsay Schrader play for Notre Dame.
"It's close by so her family will also get to see her play a lot and the Big Ten Network has more and more games every year," Sarna said. "It's a great fit for Jacki and for her family."
Gulczynski also said having her college choice made now allows her to focus on the upcoming season, one in which Bartlett will likely be one of the top-ranked Class 4A teams in the state.
"There's some relief," she said. "I feel more relaxed and now I get to go buy all my Badger gear."