Yorktown's Kylie Murr commits to Ohio State
A whirlwind couple of months for Kylie Murr were supposed to finally be winding down. There was the chaos of the club season with Munciana, which ended in a national championship. And the high school season with Yorktown is just a month away.
But Murr has been busy, and on Friday morning the rising sophomore committed to her “dream school” and a B1G chance she just couldn’t afford to pass up.
Murr verbally committed to Ohio State, selecting the Buckeyes over numerous other high majors, a list which included Penn State, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Purdue and Iowa.
She loved the coaching staff and the campus, which she has visited twice (once in April and once with Munciana when it played in a tournament in Columbus last month). And she has always wanted to go to a Big Ten school. But the part that sealed the deal for her was the community service component, which is something Murr has become passionate about through her church. She said Buckeye players are required to complete a certain amount, and that stuck out to her.
“That was mind-blowing to me, because I’m really big on that,” she said. “They have everything I’ve been wanting. And when I finally got the opportunity, I couldn’t pass on it.”
Though local fans haven’t seen all she can do on the varsity squad just yet, Murr established herself as a high-major player with Munciana’s 15 Open squad, the Lorax. She earned All-American honors after the Lorax won a national championship last month in Orlando.
“After nationals, the last week I’ve been back (recruiting) has been crazy,” Murr said. “People are realizing what our team is about and what we can do.”
Munciana 15's repeat as national champions
Murr joins a plethora of Yorktown players committed to Division I schools, including her older sister Kendall. The Tigers now have seven Division I players from last year’s 38-2 squad, which finished second in Class 3A: Kendall Murr (Jacksonville), Rhyen Neal (Toledo), Bella Rosenthall (Auburn), Jade York (Butler), Kate Avila (Ball State) and Mimi Arrington (Austin Peay). And rising sophomore Kenzie Knuckles, widely considered a high-major player, will join that group at some point.
As a freshman, Kylie Murr played in only 42 of a possible 113 sets as York played libero. But with York and Avila off to college, Murr is a leading candidate to fill that void, along with Rosenthall.
Yorktown's Murr commits to Jacksonville
And now, Murr will prepare for what should be a fun high school season with Kendall in her senior year and her mother, Rhonda, as an assistant coach under head coach Stephanie Bloom.
“I’m a lot calmer,” Murr said. “Now I just have to continue what I’m doing and play my game.”
Contact sports features writer Ryan O’Gara at (765) 213-5829. Follow him on Twitter @RyanOGaraTSP.