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Gaby Mansfield, Klein
Klein's Mansfield verbals to Rice University
HOUSTON - When Gaby Mansfield was 14-years-old, she knew then that she wanted to play collegiate volleyball.
The 2022 Libero's recruiting process got started a little late but in the end there were roughly six programs she was highly interested in. In the end, the Klein junior decided to stay close to home verbally committing to Genny Volpe's Rice Owls.
"Staying close to home means the world to me," Mansfield said. "My family is extremely close. I have a two-year-old brother that I'm very close to and plan to attend as many of his sporting and school events as possible."
I am extremely blessed and honored to announce that I have verbally committed to Rice University to further my academic and volleyball career!! @RiceVolleyball @KleinVolleyball @PrepDigTX @PrepVolleyball @HoustonSkyline @vypehouston @HoustonChronHS pic.twitter.com/Q81tDPKz0A
— Gaby Mansfield (@MansfieldGaby) September 8, 2020
When looking at Rice, the university is in the Top 10 academically. Mansfield wants to pursue a degree in Sports Management and one day become a Sports Agent.
On top of the academic quality, the volleyball program was nationally-ranked throughout the 2019 campaign. Last season, the Owls upset Texas, entered the NCAA Tournament as the 21st-ranked team in the country and earned the program's first-ever tourney victory over Oklahoma.
As Mansfield was working her way up on the club volleyball scene, that's where she developed the confidence that she could be a Division I player one day.
"My coaches for 11's, 12's and 13's, Coach Bill & Christie Jenkins pushed me to my limits and always told me that I could do anything I put my mind to," Mansfield, who plays for Houston Skyline, said. "That created a great mindset for me going forward."
Mansfield is a part of the VYPE Preseason No. 1 team Klein Bearkats, who's 2020 season begins in the next week with Class 6A volleyball being pushed back a month due to COVID-19. Teammates Devan Taylor (Clemson) and Annie Antar (University of North Florida-Indoor) are also verbally committed to play college volleyball.
Ogwumike Claims Preseason POY Honors for Second Straight Year
*Article From Rice Athletics*
Senior guard Erica Ogwumike of the Rice women's basketball team was voted Preseason Conference USA Player of the Year by the league's head coaches, announced in conjunction with the Coaches Preseason Poll on Wednesday.
Last year's C-USA Player of the Year, Ogwumike was voted the league's preseason favorite for the award for the second straight year and has been named to the Preseason C-USA Team in each of the last two seasons.
Ogwumike is coming off a season in which she became the first Owl in program history to earn C-USA Player of the Year honors and was selected to the C-USA First Team for a second straight season. She was a catalyst on a Rice team that won a school record 28 games, won both the C-USA regular season and conference tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
The senior guard averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game, the only player to rank in the top-10 in the league in each of those categories. Ogwumike led all of C-USA in double-doubles (18) and total rebounds (327) while ranking third in the league in both free throws made (136) and free throw percentage (84.5).
To complete the academic year, Ogwumike was chosen as the 2018-19 C-USA Female Athlete of the Year and earned an invite to the U.S. Pan American Team Trials.
In just two seasons at Rice, Ogwumike ranks 13th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,084 points and has surpassed 1,500 points for her career.
Ogwumike's scoring average at Rice of 17.2 points per game ranks first in school history entering her senior campaign while her 9.3 rebounds per contest ranks fourth. She also ranks 26th in the NCAA among active players in career double-doubles (26).
-RiceOwls.com-