The Creighton women’s basketball program got some belated happy holiday news when Sioux Falls, South Dakota native Emma Ronsiek announced, via Twitter, on Wednesday afternoon that she will be heading to Omaha in two years.
Ronsiek is the first player to commit to Creighton’s 2020 recruiting class, and while she always had the Bluejays in the top spot on her list of schools, it was a private conversation between her mother, Mary Beth, and assistant coach Carli Tritz that made her feel like now was the right time to pull the trigger.
“It just kind of hit me all of a sudden,” Ronsiek said. “[My mom] told me what they talked about and it was just what I wanted. I always knew deep inside that Creighton was my number one, so I just went with my gut.”
As a freshman, the 6-foot-1 guard/forward combo averaged 22 points per game during the state tournament to lead O’Gorman High School to the South Dakota Class AA title. A year later, she earned First Team All-State as a sophomore after averaging 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and shooting 33 percent from three for the season. During the fall, she also nabbed a First Team All-State selection on the volleyball court after posting 494 kills, 290 digs, and 61 aces as the top offensive option on an O’Gorman volleyball team that recently produced a top 20 national recruit for Creighton in senior All-American outside hitter Taryn Kloth.
Along with the Jays, Ronsiek had offers from South Dakota, South Dakota State, North Dakota State, Green Bay, Colorado State, and Denver. She narrowed her list down to CU, Green Bay, and South Dakota before ultimately deciding to head out of state.
“I always knew I didn’t want to stay within an hour of my house,” Ronsiek said. “It’s nice to be able to drive 45 minutes to see your family, but three hours — Omaha to Sioux Falls — is not that bad. It gives me freedom to be further away from my parents, but yet close enough so that when I want to go home I can.”
In terms of style of play, Ronsiek believes Creighton is a good fit for her, and with Audrey Faber graduating after this season and Jaylyn Agnew following suit after the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays will need to someone who can stretch the floor, handle the ball, and play inside or out.
“I’m a four who can stretch the floor and [Creighton’s] main offense is run through the four,” Ronsiek said. “I just think it’s a good fit instead of some other teams who have the four or five normally be a rim runner. I think it’s fun to have that position play with more freedom and I’m really excited for that.”
Along with proximity to home and style of play, multi-sport standout also sees a lot of similarities between her current head coach in high school and her future one in college.
“They are almost the same person,” Ronsiek said of O’Gorman’s Kent Kolsrud and Creighton’s Jim Flanery. “They are as similar as a person can get, personality-wise. They are just easy to talk to and fun to be around.
“They can flip the switch and know when to get serious and get things done, but right after you walk off the floor it’s a friendly conversation again.”
See some highlights of Ronsiek
