ESPN ranks Chiawana player No. 10 in the Class of 2021. She just chose her college

This wasn’t the way Talia von Oelhoffen wanted to finish her recruiting.

The Chiawana junior had narrowed her choices of NCAA Division I women’s basketball schools down to five last fall.

They were UConn, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Stanford and UCLA.

She had already visited Oregon State and Stanford. But she wanted to see the other campuses.

“I was planning on going to the other places this spring,” she said. “But (with the coronavirus) I was not able to go on all the visits.”

It didn’t matter.

On Saturday, she announced she’d be playing for Oregon State, beginning in the fall of 2021.

Von Oelhoffen said she always felt it would be Oregon State, but she still wanted to make those visits to the other schools, “just to make sure.”

Now, she’s fully committed to OSU.

“It was a lot of different things that caused me to go with them,” von Oelhoffen said. “I already know two of their players. We were teammates when we traveled to Italy when we all played for the USA team. I know the coaches there. I just felt when I visited there, that for me, it was best for basketball and culture-wise.”

At 6-foot-1, von Oelhoffen believes her best position is at point guard. And that’s where she’s hoping she’ll play for the Beavers.

“My best skill is my passing and being able to see the floor,” she said.

Now, she can relax and just play this coming season knowing her future is set.

“I wanted to have it done,” she said. “The recruiting process is really stressful. You’re feeling pressure with the coaches. They always want to know what you’re going to do.”

Von Oelhoffen — the talented daughter of former NFL lineman Kimo von Oelhoffen and former University of Hawaii women’s basketball star (and Kamiakin High grad) Tondi Redden von Oelhoffen — is a highly coveted player from Chiawana.

She’s is ranked as a 5-star wing by ESPN. The sports website has von Oelhoffen as the No. 2 wing in the entire nation for the Class of 2021.

ESPN also ranks her as the No. 10 overall prospect for the Class of 2021.

As a freshman and sophomore, von Oelhoffen played at Class 2B Tri-Cities Prep. In her sophomore season, she averaged 30 points a game and helped lead the Jaguars to the state championship.

She transferred to Chiawana before her junior year, and ended up leading the Mid-Columbia Conference in scoring at 25.8 points per game.

The Riverhawks went 23-5 under her leadership, making it to the Class 4A state tournament in the Tacoma Dome in March.

Overcoming illness

The amazing part about what she did this past season is the fact she had mononucleosis.

“I had it throughout the whole basketball season,” von Oelhoffen said. “I was getting the normal colds, but also a few fevers. Honestly I had no idea I had it. But I fought through it. We got my blood tested after the season and the doctors confirmed it.”

It’s gone now. And the lockdown the state is under gave her some extra time to rest and recover.

“I’m good now,” she said.

Von Oelhoffen misses playing pickup games and open gyms.

But she’s still working out.

“I’m training with my dad,” she said. “We have a weight room at home and treadmills. So right now I’m just working on my strength and speed.”

Her grandparents also have a basketball court in their backyard.

“I’ll just come in through the side gate and go shoot,” said Talia. “I haven’t played any 5-on-5 basketball since the state tournament. But my sisters and I will play some one-on-one or two-on-two.”

She’s hoping that her AAU team, the Northwest Blazers, will get a shot of some summer tournament.

“There could be some AAU tournaments in August and September,” Talia said. “I’ve also been invited to Steph Curry’s camp in August.”

But a lot of that is up in the air for this summer because of COVID-19.

What’s not up in the air, is von Oelhoffen’s future in the women’s college basketball game.

Notes

• Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s office gave golf courses around the state the clearance on Friday night to begin playing foursomes.

The state allowed the re-opening of golf courses May 5, but only for twosomes, unless everyone was living under the same roof.

All other rules — one rider per cart, unless people are living under the same roof; golfers to be 6 feet apart; no touching the flagsticks on the greens, etc. — apply.

But driving ranges are also now re-opened.

• Jalen King, the former basketball player from Pasco High and then Chiawana High, has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

King has one season of eligibility remaining. He just finished the season at Eastern Michigan University, averaging 1.7 points and 2.5 rebounds a game.

• Chiawana’s Sianna Iverson has signed to play volleyball and high jump for Pacific Lutheran University.

• Tri-Cities Prep quarterback Dante Maiuri has been getting some recognition around the country this offseason.

The latest comes from QBHitList.com, where he is ranked 143 among the top 200 quarterbacks from around the country right now.