Few players can cover ground on the basketball court quicker than Oswego East senior Ty Battle.
When it came to a college decision, though, she took her time.
Battle first received an offer from Indiana State two years ago. She waited patiently, exploring all her options.
When Battle took her official visit in October, it just felt like home.
One potential future teammate, Morton graduate Maryam Wilcher, played AAU with Battle on the Chicago Hoops Express. Battle played against another, Rich South alum Tierra Webb, while Battle was at Joliet Catholic.
“It was just like a family when I went there,” Battle said of Indiana State. “I fit in right away.”
Battle made it official last Wednesday, signing a letter of intent with Indiana State.
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She becomes the second Oswego East senior to commit to a Division I program.
Sydney Schultz just signed with Missouri State, a Missouri Valley Conference rival.
Battle smiled about the prospect of playing against her current teammate.
“We haven’t talked about it a lot,” Battle said. “We’ll probably talk about it way more now.”
Battle has thought about playing in college for a long time. Her father, Kenny, prepped at West Aurora and starred at Illinois.
Ty doesn’t need a reminder.
“Especially when family is over, I watch a lot of his videos,” Battle said. “He tries to tell me that he can still ball. I’ve wanted to follow in his footsteps since I was a little kid.”
She started receiving letters from colleges in the eighth grade, and made a name for herself in two seasons at Joliet Catholic.
That didn’t change last winter.
Battle averaged 15.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.1 assists last season after transferring to Oswego East. She led the Wolves to a program-record 27 wins and their first outright conference and regional titles.
Battle was named second team All-State by the IBCA and the Southwest Prairie Conference Player of the Year.
Thus far this year, she’s averaging 20.7 points for Oswego East (3-0). Battle’s impact at the defensive end also has been big.
“She’s fast, she’s tall, she’s agile and she just gets to spots so quickly,” Wolves coach Abe Carretto said.
Battle, a lanky 6-foot-1, is listed as a forward but is expected to play guard at Indiana State.
She’s been preparing for that change.
“I’ve been doing way more shooting around the 3-point arc and working on my ballhandling skills,” Battle said. “Once they told me I’d be playing guard, I knew I had to work to get better at it.”
Battle was one of five players to sign last week with Indiana State, which is coming off a 13-17 season.
Carretto thinks Battle has a chance to contribute right away in college.
“Ballhandling is not an issue — she’s really worked on that and her outside jumper,” Carretto said. “She’s always had good form.”
She’s already more at ease in her current surroundings, emerging more as a vocal leader with the Wolves.
“I think she’s a little more comfortable with everybody, and she’s older,” Carretto said. “Things are falling into place for her. She can relax now.”
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News..
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