When Hill-Murray junior Emily Pohl called her grandparents to tell them she was committing to play college hockey at Wisconsin, they told her they would need to get some Badgers red to wear. They were used to pulling for the Gophers, with whom both of Pohl’s parents won national hockey titles.

Pohl, coming off a 2025 Class 2A state title with the Pioneers, is forging her own path with the reigning NCAA national champions. She announced her verbal commitment to the University of Wisconsin on Monday.

“Honestly, I’m the most lucky person in the entire world,” Pohl said. “My parents are my two biggest supporters out of anybody I know. … They did not care where I ended up, as long as I was happy and felt confident.”

Last season, a young core — Pohl among them — helped Hill-Murray to its third state title with a 5-4 overtime win over Edina in the Class 2A state championship game. Pohl recorded 41 goals and 33 assists, good for fourth in the state in points and a team-high 2.39 points per game.

Her totals are up to 71 goals and 74 assists through three seasons with the Pioneers, who are coached by her parents, John Pohl and Krissy Wendell-Pohl.

“She has a huge compete level and really wants to win,” John Pohl said. “She’s been surrounded by good players her entire life, and I think that helped her a lot in terms of developing her hockey IQ and just being pushed and playing the game at a higher level.”

Both John and Krissy have their names etched in Gophers hockey history. John, who earned Mr. Hockey honors while playing for Red Wing, won a national title with Minnesota in 2002. Krissy, a Ms. Hockey winner at Park Center, is still second in the Gophers’ record books in points per game (2.35) after helping Minnesota to back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. She also played in the Olympics twice.

“I absolutely loved my time at Minnesota. It was awesome. But I loved playing at Wisconsin. I loved playing at North Dakota, and the rivalries were always fun,” John said. “Em’s a very independent kid, and she wants to do her own thing, and we’re fully supportive of it.”

Rooting for the Gophers’ rivals on the other side of the Border Battle becomes easier when their daughter reps the team. Krissy described Emily as mature and driven, running point for her own communication with college programs.

“John and I grew up in families where we didn’t feel that pressure, either,” Krissy said. “I always tell our kids, ‘We’re going to support you and be happy and cheer for you, whatever endeavors you want to do.’ ”

Pohl took visits to Minnesota and Penn State as well as Wisconsin.

“All the schools and colleges I talked to, [their] coaches and everything were amazing. … It wasn’t necessarily an easy decision,“ she said.

“But at the end of the day, taking my visits and getting on campus, it was really clear to me that not only the program at Wisconsin but the actual school and campus was just where I felt the most at home and where I could see myself fitting in the best.”

Pohl still has two more seasons before she leaves high school for the eight-time NCAA champion Badgers, who have won four titles in the past six seasons. In Madison, she will reunite with Orono senior Maddy Kimbrel and Holy Family senior goaltender Kayla Swartout, friends of Pohl’s who are committed to the Badgers.

In the meantime, the Pioneers are poised for another strong season with a talented squad that includes junior defender Addison McLay, who recently committed to Ohio State, another top WCHA program, with national titles from 2022 and 2024. Pohl and McLay both competed in USA Hockey’s August U-18 rivalry series with Canada.

“The team we have at Hill-Murray is so special, not only from a hockey standpoint but from a personality standpoint,” Emily Pohl said.

When she called her other coaches to let them know she had committed to Wisconsin, “the first thing I said after was, ‘All right, let’s work to get another [state] title,’ ” she recalled. “It’s go time, now.”