For the second time in three weeks, an Oswego girls basketball player has committed to a Division I university.
And just like her teammate Amri Wilder, who chose Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Jordan Campbell went with the team that was with her from the start.
Campbell settled on the University of Evansville just days before classes are set to begin for her senior year at Oswego. Evansville had been in contact with Campbell since last fall.
“I’m so happy,” Campbell said. “They have been my team for almost a year now. That really helped my decision become clearer. I love the school’s academic tradition and how they put academics before sports. That’s very important to me. I’m so excited to start playing there.”
Campbell has been a key contributor to the Panthers’ success the past few seasons, including last year’s run to a regional title and Southwest Prairie Conference crown. But the athletic Campbell is still growing into her game. Originally she was a post player, but her length, speed and athleticism are what drew the interest of college coaches.
This summer, she started to blossom into a bigger force offensively.
“We had (former Oswego stars and Division I players Paige Harmon and Samiya Wright) as employees of our camp this year and they talked right away about how Jordan would easily fit in with their teams,” Oswego coach Chad Pohlmann said. “Physically, she’s right there. That jumps out at you right away. She has the ability to go out and shoot the three and she’s expanded that part of her game.”
There were times when the veteran team had a chance to play together in June that Campbell became the player taking, and hitting, the big shot. Pohlmann noted that when she did that in games as a junior, it brought the team’s level of play up considerably.
“Her game is only going to continue to improve,” Pohlmann said. “I saw a lot of her taking the next step this summer, taking the big shots. She had some monster games this summer. Her talents really started to show on the floor. I think her confidence is growing. I think she definitely has the ability to take her game to the next level.”
Campbell said she enjoyed the recruiting process, despite feeling some stress and nerves talking to so many college coaches. But now that the chase is over, she is looking forward to focusing on school and her team during her senior year.
The Panthers return four starters from last year’s highly successful team, and with two Division I recruits now on the court, the spotlight becomes even brighter.
“We’ve been together for four years now,” Campbell said. “This is the anticipated year. Everybody is expecting us to be really good. We had a great summer. I’m super excited to start training in the fall and get the season started. It’s sad that it’s the last year, but I’m excited.”
