Ruthie Robinson has been a Creighton fan for years.
The middle blocker from Sioux Falls, South Dakota plays for the same high school and club teams as the younger sister of former Bluejay All-American, and Olympian, Taryn Kloth. That’s why it wasn’t hard to find the proper attire to respond in when Brian Rosen offered her a scholarship almost immediately after she picked up the phone the morning of June 15.
After hanging up the phone, she went to her closet, changed into a Creighton sweatshirt, called Rosen back, then told him she wanted to be a Bluejay.
“I’ve followed Creighton for years,” Robinson said. “I followed them throughout their season and watched them make it to the Elite Eight. I got to know Brian at a team camp. We just clicked. Knowing that he would be my coach gave me the feeling that I wanted to be a Bluejay. I knew I would be in great hands with him as my coach.”
The relationship with Rosen played a key role in her decision. Possibly before the first-year head coach even realized it. Robinson, who is ranked as the 114th-best prospect overall for the class of 2027 according to PrepDig.com, first met her future college coach at a team camp for her club team, Kairos Elite Volleyball.
“He was the middles coach at Creighton, and I’m a middle. When he would come and work Kairos camps that we would put on he knew every flaw that I had. He would put me through drills to help me get better. He knows what I need to work on. Knowing that makes me feel confident that he’s going to critique my skills and get me up to the next level.”
Creighton is embarking on a transitional season of sorts. Longtime head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth has moved on, and she handed the keys to the program over to Rosen after spending 22 years building it up from nothing into a perennial top 15 program.
Robinson had an admiration for Booth and her approach to the process of striving to break barriers in Omaha. The change at the top doesn’t give Sioux Falls native any pause, though. If Booth had enough belief in Rosen to greenlight his takeover of the program, then Robinson does as well.
“I really loved Booth’s energy. I’ve seen interviews and I’ve seen how she treats her players,” she said. “That really excited me when I saw that Creighton started coming to my games. Even though she’s not going to be there, I know Brian learned things from her that he’s going to use. I know I’m in good hands. He’s going to treat me just like Booth would have.”