Allie Ziebell commits to ‘dream school,’ UConn basketball
NEENAH, Wis. (BVM) – Allie Ziebell grew up watching UConn women’s basketball. The timing was perfect as she was getting into the sport during the height of UConn’s dominance. It made it easy for her to become a fan and make it a goal to be a Husky one day.
“Since I started watching basketball, they are the school I wanted to go to,” Ziebell said.
Her love for UConn made it easy to choose the Huskies when she began her recruiting. The Neenah, Wisconsin native is a five-star recruit in the Class of 2024 and the fifth–best player in the nation for the class. She had plenty of options but once she got to Storrs and was on campus, she knew UConn was where she wanted to be.
“I would say I got down to probably about six (programs)…But I really knew that (UConn) was my dream school and I really wanted to go there,” Ziebell said.
“It was everything I expected it to be.”
Go huskies🐺💙 #committed pic.twitter.com/nCmqe55XLu
— Allie Ziebell (@allieziebell) December 3, 2022
Ziebell verbally committed to UConn in December, joining fellow Wisconsin native and five-star Class of 2023 UConn commit KK Arnold. Arnold verbally committed last year around this time and signed her letter of intent in the fall.
“We have talked and I think it’s super cool just having someone who will be going through the same experience as you, coming from the same area,” Ziebell said.
Both girls accomplished a goal that they had set for themselves as children. With her father being a basketball coach and former player at UW-Oshkosh, Ziebell grew up with a basketball in her hands. Summers were spent in the gym working on her game and in the winter, she watched UConn basketball.
However, it wasn’t until she was in seventh grade that she took her dedication to the game to another level. She got serious and people started to take notice. In two years, she was on varsity and averaged more than 19 points.
Since then, she has been working on another dream she has: winning a state title. Last season, the Neenah Rockets made it to the sectional final but lost to Appleton East and Marquette commit Emily La Chapell.
“We don’t want that feeling again,” Ziebell said about losing in the sectional final. “We fell a little short last year and thought we could have gone further.”
The Rockets have been one of the best teams in the state of Wisconsin from the beginning of the season and Ziebell has been one of the best players in the state. The 5-foot-10 junior guard is averaging around 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists .
Allie Ziebell (@allieziebell ) highlights VS Arrowhead HS at the KM Thanksgiving Classic dropping 25PTS 👀 Ranked top 15 in the 2024 class via ESPN ⭐️
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🌐 https://t.co/Dn8HiSOSuu#BALLHYPE COVERS#ncaaW | #NFHS | #Grassroots | #FutureIsFemale pic.twitter.com/oWswvnIdOI— BallHype Media🔥 (@ballhypemedia) December 3, 2021
Ziebell has always been able to score and score in a multitude of ways. She averaged more than 30 points last year but her ability to get her teammates involved is what she’s most proud of.
“Creating for teammates, that’s something that I pride myself on,” Ziebell said. “I can shoot but I really enjoy being able to get my teammates open shots and get them involved…It makes the game more fun.”
Neenah is having plenty of fun this year. The Rockets are averaging almost 70 points per game. Teams are trying to key on Ziebell but she is finding her teammates and they are rewarding her for it. Ziebell’s assist numbers have been the highest they have been since her high school career started.
It’s one of the reasons the Rockets are a favorite to not only make the state tournament, but win the whole thing this year. That’s the goal Ziebell is focused on right now. She and her teammates want a state title.
“We feel like we have the team to do that this year,” Ziebell said.
