If Maggie Mendelson had only committed to the Nebraska volleyball team, it would have been big news.
She’s a 6-foot-5 middle blocker, and was the No. 2-ranked recruit in the nation, according to .
If Mendelson had only committed to the Nebraska women’s basketball team, it would have been big news. She’s really good at that sport, too. ESPN ranks her as a top-20 recruit.
So Saturday was a massive day for Husker sports because Mendelson committed to play both volleyball and women’s basketball at the school beginning next fall.
That’s right — one standout recruit, two sports. She announced her decision on social media, and did so while attending the Nebraska women’s basketball game at Pinnacle Bank Arena. After the game was when most of the basketball coaches and players got the news during her visit to the locker room.
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That made for an exciting scene in the hallway outside the locker room. Basketball assistant coach Tom Goehle and volleyball assistant coach Jaylen Reyes hugged. Reyes yelled, “Let’s go.â€
With Mendelson, Nebraska gets a player who has played for the youth national team in two sports.
She’s from North Ogden, Utah, where she is graduating from Fremont High School one full year early. She made the decision to reclassify from the 2023 recruiting class to 2022.
Mendelson was recruited by the top volleyball and women’s basketball programs in the nation. She could have played for many of the top programs in just that sport.
But she was set on finding a school where coaches would allow her to play both sports.
Her final four were Nebraska, Texas, Minnesota and Washington. She eliminated two schools where it wasn’t going to work to play both.
“These guys have always shown me that it’s possible,†Mendelson told the Journal Star.
Mendelson will likely be on a basketball scholarship, a sport that has three more scholarships each year than volleyball.
After the college volleyball season ends in December, the plan is for Mendelson to take two weeks off and then start practicing with the basketball team. She can also practice some with the basketball team during the summer.
Playing for Team USA in both sports this summer made Mendelson think it was possible to try both in college.
“It was just awesome to realize that I could do both,†she said. “And these two programs have both shown me that it’s going to work out. So it’s just awesome. I don’t know why I wouldn’t do it.â€
Nebraska coaches in both sports made several trips to visit Mendelson. If the Husker volleyball team had a day off from practice, Reyes was on a plane to visit Mendelson.
“They were down in Utah pretty much every other week,†Mendelson said of both staffs. “So it was just awesome to see them all of the time. And both staffs made it down to Mexico when I played for USA. It was just awesome to see how invested they were in me, and how invested they were in building this relationship.â€
When the women’s basketball season began, volleyball coach John Cook and Reyes attended some of those games, sitting right behind the basket. While there, they fired off some photos to Mendelson.
“I’ve got a lot of photos of them watching the games,†Mendelson said. “A lot of comments on what the (women’s basketball coaches) are wearing because they like their outfits. It’s been a fun couple of weeks.â€
Mendelson made her decision earlier this week, and then made a plan to make a trip to Lincoln to celebrate with the coaches in person.
Goehle was the first to know.
“I wanted it to be a surprise, so I booked my flight,†Mendelson said. “And then Jaylen found out. So he and Tom have been working this out for me. So it was kind of a surprise for everyone else. And then I went and surprised the volleyball coaches (Saturday morning) before their practice, and then came over here and watched the game, and then surprised the basketball coaches.â€
Mendelson said she didn’t look too closely at which school has had the most success combined in both sports. A lot of her decision was based on the relationships she has made.
“What’s not to like about Nebraska?†Mendelson said. “The relationship with the coaches is awesome, and the success they’ve had on both sides with volleyball winning national championships and producing a lot of Olympians. And the success basketball has had putting girls in the WNBA.â€
She played for the United States junior national volleyball team at the FIVB World Championship in Durango, Mexico, in September, helping the team win the bronze medal.
During those two weeks, she got to know some of her future Husker volleyball teammates in recruits Bekka Allick, Harper Murray, Bergen Reilly and Caroline Jurevicius, who each played for Team USA.
There have been a few others to play both volleyball and basketball for the Huskers, including Laura Pilakowski, Greichaly Cepero and Alicia Ostrander.
In basketball, Mendelson played for the U16 national team at the FIBA Americas championship. She averaged 10 points and six rebounds while helping the team win the gold medal.
She helped her high school team go 26-0 and win state as a sophomore. She scored 15 points and had 14 rebounds in the state championship game.
Mendelson is just 16 but will graduate from high school in May and then come to Lincoln in June.
“I think it’s just going to be better for me to (graduate) instead of play one more year in high school,†Mendelson. “I love my teammates in high school. But there have been some rough things going on with my volleyball program. My coach quit this year. I’m going to miss my basketball program in high school, but I think it will be better for my game to move on to collegeâ€
Mendelson’s goal is to play volleyball in the Olympics, but she obviously loves both sports.
“I like them both about the same,†Mendelson said. “I’m probably a little bit better at volleyball, but I like them both.â€