Crosby-Ironton guard Tori Oehrlein, the No. 2-ranked senior girls basketball recruit in Minnesota, was the first player from her class to commit to the Gophers women’s basketball team.

In the year since, the Gophers’ 2026 recruiting class has grown to four, including the top-rated seniors in Wisconsin and Nebraska, shaping up into a promising quartet that the 5-11 point guard spearheaded.

Late in the morning Wednesday, Oehrlein signed her athletic aid documents in an individual ceremony in Crosby-Ironton’s gym. Family, teammates and coaches, even the school superintendent, made an appearance alongside “like probably half our town” as several teachers canceled classes, Oehrlein said.

That community support is part of why Oehrlein chose Minnesota out of a shortlist that included Florida, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Maryland and Utah.

“I’ve always wanted to be a small-town girl and stay in state,” Oehrlein said. “My community is huge for me, and my family will be able to come watch me.”

Oehrlein is the highest-rated Minnesota senior to head to Dinkytown since the Gophers’ 2022 class hauled in in-state talent such as Wayzata’s Mara Braun and Hopkins’ Amaya Battle. Those guards are now key to Minnesota’s promising 3-0 start and its push to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018.

“I’m really excited, and they’ve done a great job,” Oehrlein said. “[Gophers head coach Dawn Plitzuweit] has put so much into this program, and I think I can really see what she’s building, and it looks awesome.”

Oehrlein announced her commitment to the Gophers last Nov. 8, shortly after former Star Tribune reporter Ron Haggstrom took a two-hour trip north to Crosby to write about Oehrlein’s busy balancing act. She is earning her associates degree while working part time and also plays softball, runs track and made this fall’s state tennis tournament.

On the hardwood, she is already Minnesota’s all-time leading rebounder, having racked up 2,061 boards with a season still to play, and holds the state record for assists in a game with 21.

She and the No. 1-ranked recruit in Minnesota, Providence Academy guard and Kentucky commit Maddyn Greenway, both have a shot at eclipsing the state career scoring record of 5,060 points, set by Braham’s Rebekah Dahlman in 2013. Greenway has 4,454, while Oehrlein has 4,427 and was the fastest player to reach the 4,000 mark.

Last winter, Oehrlein picked up multiple quadruple-doubles while averaging 29.9 points, 16.2 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 6.3 steals per game for the Class 2A runner-up Rangers.

“We first saw Tori compete with the Minnesota Suns [AAU team],” Plitzuweit said in a news release from the university. “What stood out immediately was her ability to impact the game from the moment she stepped on the court. Tori is a very prolific scorer but she also has great vision, awareness and finds teammates when they are open.”

Oehrlein had to wait almost a year to see who would fill out her freshman class at Minnesota. In late August, she was joined by Natalie Kussow, a 5-10 shooting guard from Hartland, Wis., who is Wisconsin’s reigning Gatorade Player of the Year.

Both future Gophers have been ranked in the top 100 players in their class by multiple recruiting services. Via 247Sports, Oehrlein’s at No. 39, and Kussow No. 23. For ESPN, Oehrlein sits at No. 58, and Kussow No. 40, making Minnesota one of 26 programs to have multiple ESPN’s 2026 top-100 commits.

In early September, the quartet was rounded out by 6-1 forward Kylee Paben, the top-ranked senior from Nebraska, and 6-4 forward Adit Kuol from Uganda by way of Tennessee. The college prep has already started as the four exchange texts about rooming arrangements.

“I love the morals and values that Coach P. has. They match with mine, and I feel like we just had that great relationship,” Oehrlein said of her decision to commit to Minnesota. “I feel like [she] has done a great job with her recruiting, and we’ll mesh really well together.”

But first, Oehrlein wants to make sure she doesn’t have to wait until college to play at Williams Arena again.

Three of the Crosby-Ironton program’s four trips to the state tournament, which is hosted at the Barn, have come with Oehrlein running point. The Rangers were undefeated last season until running into Providence Academy and its now four-year title streak in last winter’s Class 2A state championship.

“I loved knowing that this is my home court,” Oehrlein said. “Hopefully we can get to state and do the same thing. That’s the goal. We look like a little bit different of a team this year, graduated a few.”

“I’m just trying to have fun, make all the memories, and not trying to wish my senior year away,” she said.