Hesse commits to SMSU
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SLEEPY EYE -- Not many high school basketball players are able to decide as sophomores which college they want to continue their playing careers with.
Sleepy Eye Public's Kadence Hesse is an exception.
With how well she's been able to light up the scoreboard and help lead her team to victory so early on in her high school career, it shouldn't be a big surprise that she was already recruited to play DII basketball. Last month, Hesse committed to continue her playing career at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.
Heading into Tuesday's home game with Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop, Hesse was averaging 22.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.7 steals per game.
Hesse said that the decision wasn't too difficult to make as she likes the program's head coach Tom Webb and the school's size.
"I knew that as soon as I went there for my visit that that was the most comfortable place I was going to be," Hesse said. "And coach Tom Webb is what I think I need in the future for me to perform and get to my best abilities because that's just the guy he is. I knew I could possibly go DI if I wanted to, but I don't think that would have fitted me well because I don't like that big of an atmosphere. So SMSU was just the perfect place to be."
Getting this decision out of the way as a sophomore takes away much burden for Hesse as she'll no longer have to worry about impressing colleges.
"It definitely makes it easier because I'm not trying to perform to impress all these different colleges that I have no idea if they're going to want me or not," Hesse said. "So it just sets me up a little bit easier just knowing that I have to perfect my game for how I'm going to fit in there."
Hesse said that the team's current style is very quick-paced and doesn't rely on one option.
"The program is very quick-paced and not very much set play, so it's just whoever's feeling it that night is going to get the ball in their hands and get to create for the team," Hesse said. "Coach Webb is just a person that understands the game and he already understands how I work, so that will just be so much better for when I finally get to play for him. It was just a good environment to be in.
Hesse will also be joining GFW's Brynn Busse, currently a junior in high school, and Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart's Allison Milbrandt, also a junior, on the team at SMSU. While Hesse's first season at SMSU isn't until 2024, she looks forward to joining the program and her fellow Tomahawk Conference rivals.
"I'm excited to be closer to home, so I'll get to be around some of my classmates over there," Hesse said. "And, of course, playing with some of these other Tomahawk players. Just knowing that that's where I'm going to be and this school is small, it'll be like home."
Hesse also passed 1,000 career points on Jan. 13 this season in a home win over New Ulm Cathedral. She said that she now has her sights set on 2,000 points but won't let that goal rush her or alter her style.