“There were some schools that reached out but I wasn’t super interested, mostly because of distance. As far as schools that were in the running for me to go to, it came down to either Gustavus or Eau Claire.””

Ella Peters

Shortly after the Lady Wildcats’ season ended, River Falls senior guard Ella Peters made it official; she will be playing Division 3 basketball at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.

While Peters mentally planted the seeds of playing college basketball as an underclassman at River Falls, it wasn’t until her Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) season going into her senior year that her dream started to grow into reality.

By the summer of 2022, Peters was in her seventh year of AAU basketball and had moved up to Team Wisconsin Murray, one of the premier offseason programs in the state. She was also about to begin her third season as a varsity starter for the Wildcats, and that’s when college coaches began calling.

“The AAU season going into my senior year was when recruiting really started,” Peters said. “Last year I played for Team Wisconsin and that’s when they started promoting us on social media. That’s how a lot of college coaches hear about people. They exposed us to recruiting and it really helped me.”

As Peters’ exposure grew through Team Wisconsin, so did the number of collegiate coaches inquiring about her basketball future. A lot of primarily Division 3 programs reached out to Peters with the hopes of setting up a phone interview and eventually an official visit.

While many inquired, only two programs truly caught Peters’ eye – Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Both programs are among the top echelon in their respective conferences.

UW-Eau Claire won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) just two seasons ago and has put together six consecutive winning seasons under longtime head coach Tonja Englund.

Gustavus Adolphus finished the 2022-23 season 26-3 and as the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions. The Golden Gusties have strung together more than two decades of winning basketball, as their last losing season was in 1995-96.

“There were some schools that reached out but I wasn’t super interested, mostly because of distance,” Peters said. “As far as schools that were in the running for me to go to, it came down to either Gustavus or Eau Claire.”

Peters took time in deciding which program was the perfect fit for her. She already had a bit of a connection to Gustavus Adolphus because that’s where her mom attended college as a young adult.

While many factors went into the decision to ultimately commit to Gustavus Adolphus instead of Eau Claire, Peters cited an immediate connection with the coaching staff, proximity to home and state-of-the-art athletic facilities that were recently renovated.

“I loved the coaches for both, but I think the Gustavus coach (Laurie Kelly) was more my style,” Peters said. “It was really close, but I think the style of coaching and Gustavus’ style of play is just better for me.”

Peters spoke about how Gustavus Adolphus plays team basketball at an elite level. She detailed her love for their desire to push the pace in transition, always make the extra pass to open teammates and play gritty, physical defense every possession.

While Peters may not have truly started to consider playing college basketball until she was an upperclassman, River Falls head coach Ian Sticht knew as soon as she got into high school that Peters could play at the next level.

Sticht did his early analysis on Peters’ ball handling ability and her playmaking potential. However, between her freshman and sophomore year, Peters grew several inches and became a lengthy, athletic wing instead of an undersized guard.

As she continued to develop physically and grow into her frame, Peters became one of the Wildcats’ most versatile players that could play any role on the floor, given her early experience as a guard before she grew to be one of the tallest players on the team as a near six-footer.

“I think she can play at the next level for many reasons,” Sticht said of Peters. “Her size and versatility are very special. She can and did play every position for us from bringing the ball up the floor to playing around the basket to defending the best guards and posts. Ella can and will do literally anything you ask of her.”

Peters spoke about how growing up she was always an undersized player and when she hit her growth spurt going into her sophomore year, that turned her into the versatile player that she is today.

“People tell me I’m a versatile player and I agree. I think it’s because I was always really short growing up,” Peters said. “I think that helped because I grew up as a guard and handled the ball. Then when I got taller, I learned some roles in the post too. Doing both helped me become versatile.”

For Coach Sticht, Gustavus Adolphus is getting more than just one of the most dynamic players to come out of River Falls in the last several years. They’re also receiving an exceptionally hard worker dedicated to her craft who is also beloved by her teammates.

“More than anything else, I’ve seen her put in so much time over the years working on her game,” Sticht said. “I don’t think words would do justice to the type of player Gustavus is getting in Ella because she’s such an exceptional kid. She’s a truly special player that is liked by every one of her teammates. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a player who took every coaching point in stride and tried to do everything you asked of her.”

Although Peters is ready to begin the exciting next chapter of her academic and athletic career at Gustavus Adolphus next fall, she’s going to miss the close relationships she spent years cultivating in River Falls.

“I will remember my teams and the people that I met the most,” Peters said. “I loved every team that we had. We all got along super well and that made things really fun. After my freshman year, every year we kept getting better and that was motivating. It was fun and I liked all the people I met.”