After all her travels, Kaylah Rainey felt right at home just a stone’s throw away from where it all began for her.
After an ultra-tense year of recruitment and a yearlong hoops schedule that took her around the globe, the Belleville East girls basketball star has settled on being in Evanston and at Northwestern for her collegiate career.
Rainey has now verbally committed to the Wildcats and plans to formally sign a letter-of-intent sometime in August, according to the Belleville News-Democrat.
Kaylah Rainey
Recently nationally ranked as high as the 14th best point guard in the country by ESPN, the 5-foot-6 soon-to-be senior averaged 9.1 points and 4.35 steals per game for the 18-10 Lancers last season, resulting in her pretty much having her pick of virtually any college program across the country.
Rainey knew it was just a matter of time before her moment would come and she would feel the right fit.
"My parents might have been a little tense, but I was pretty chill about it,” she told the Belleville News. "You have to have fun with it."
Rainey said she couldn’t be surer about wanting to be in Evanston.
"It was an all-day visit," she said of her trip to the school. "I met the team and we went to a football game when they played Michigan State. Then the other girls were texting me with every milestone or accolade that I got -- when I got my 1,000th point, my assists record, my steals record... . That meant a lot to me."
At Northwestern, Rainey, who carries a 3.8 GPA, expects to have the best of both worlds. The school is world-known for its academic standing and she is almost certain to have an immediate impact on the court.
Then there is the feeling of being and starring at home for Rainey, who grew up in nearby Chicago. Now Rainey said she’s just glad the process is all over and she can get back to business.
"I can focus on enjoying my senior year and school ball,” she said. “It's the best time of my life and I want to enjoy it."
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