2022 Oregon Signee Grace VanSlooten Ready to Compete in Eugene
When Kelly Graves took over as head coach of the Oregon Ducks in 2014, few people would have ever expected that he would turn the program into a national powerhouse both on the court and on the recruiting trail.
Now, Oregon is a perennial contender for Pac-12 titles and deep runs in March, and is one of the top recruiting programs in the nation in the last eight years. Since Graves' arrival, he's brought in 12 five-star players, according to ESPN, including seven in just the last three recruiting cycles alone.
One of the Ducks' latest five-star recruits is 2022 forward Grace VanSlooten from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. An Ottawa Hills, Ohio, native, VanSlooten is ranked the No. 13 prospect in the 2022 class by ESPN.
She committed to Oregon in October and signed in November, joining a class that is projected to be one of the best in the country. VanSlooten spoke with Ducks Digest about her recruitment process and why she chose Oregon.
"I really just had a gut feeling about Oregon," she said of deciding to go to Oregon, where she took her first of four official visits over the summer. "I just found myself comparing everything else to Oregon."
Oregon jumped into VanSlooten's recruitment later than most of the programs that had offered her. She had caught the attention of Division 1 programs before stepping on the court at the high school level, landing her first offer from nearby Toledo before her ninth grade year.
Most teenagers don't face that level of pressure that early in their athletic careers, but the attention from coaches at a young age didn't faze her.
"I tried not to pay too much attention to it because I didn't want it to affect me or get into my head," VanSlooten said. "There is some pressure, but not much because I know who I am as I player and I know what I can do. So I just stick to my game."
VanSlooten made a name for herself as a standout at Notre Dame Academy in Toledo, scoring over 1,000 points in her three years there. But as she had collected dozens of offers and began to narrow down her top schools, she decided to transfer to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. to prepare for her next chapter.
"We just really wanted somewhere where I could really prepare for college, get more of a college schedule, more intense workouts, and then to be surrounded by people who are also motivated and really care about their sport," she said.
VanSlooten told Ducks Digest that attending IMG Academy, more than 1,000 miles away from home, has helped her adjust to life far from home and living on her own.
But before she headed east to hit the hardwood for her new school, she hit the road for official visits in hopes of finding her future home. She visited Oregon first, followed by Gonzaga, Arizona, and LSU.
"I got to watch a workout, hang out with some of the team that was there, and have dinner with them and spend time with them," VanSlooten said of the visit. "I could just tell it feels very homey, and it just gave me this feeling like, 'wow, I can really see myself here.'"
Being from the Midwest, her trip to Eugene was her first time on the West Coast. She checked out the Hobbit Trail near the Oregon Coast and Multnomah Falls in between her trips to Oregon and Gonzaga.
"I love where it is geography-wise," VanSlooten said of Eugene. "I love the mountains around it and everything like that. And then everything with Nike being right there and the NIL stuff with Phil Knight. It was just perfect."
Grace VanSlooten
During the official visit, VanSlooten met up with Kelly Graves, along with his assistants, including Jackie Nared Hairston, whom VanSlooten had a relationship with when she coached at Arizona.
"He's just a great guy," VanSlooten said of Graves. "I've heard nothing but good things about him. Our conversations are just easygoing. I'm really excited to be coached by him. I love everybody on the staff. They're all amazing."
That "gut feeling" about committing to Oregon came shortly after the conclusion of her time in Eugene.
"I knew I really, really, really loved it right after my visit," she said. "So I was pretty sure I was gonna go there. I wasn't 100% until after my LSU visit because I just wanted to have an open mind."
The decision to commit was gratifying for VanSlooten not just because she was going to the place that she fell in love with, but she would be reunited with her AAU teammate and good friend Chance Gray, who had committed to Oregon in August.
Gray is a fellow five-star from Ohio, who played with VanSlooten on Sports City U in the AAU circuit. VanSlooten said they were both recruited by many of the same schools and shared some of the same experiences as elite high school players.
"It's really nice having somebody to talk about it with," VanSlooten said of Gray. "I've always loved playing with her, so I just kept that in the back of my mind. It wasn't really one of my deciding factors that I would have loved to play with her, but I'm happy I'm going to be."
Both of the future Ducks were both named McDonald's All Americans on Jan. 25. VanSlooten was ecstatic to learn the news during class on Instagram.
"I was really excited. It's always been a high school dream of mine to be a McDonald's All American," she said. "So to achieve that, it's a pretty awesome feeling."
Duck fans should get used to seeing VanSlooten and Gray on the same floor on March 28 in the McDonald's All American Game, but they aren't alone in the 2022 class as four-stars Jennah Isai and Kennedy Basham also signed with Oregon. VanSlooten said that fans should get excited for this class coming in next year.
"We all have the same goal, that's obviously to win a national championship," she said. "We all like to work really hard. We all like to win. We're all very competitive. So it's definitely gonna be an exciting year."
But what can Ducks fans expect from the 6-foot-3 forward who hopes to don number 40 in the green and yellow?
"Somebody who hustles and is pretty versatile," VanSlooten said. "I really like to run the floor and I like to get out in transition. I'm just playing whatever role they need me to play for the team to succeed."
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