The Oregon Ducks are the team to beat in the Pac-12 next year. After landing six commits for the Class of 2016, and possibly a seventh, the Ducks are reloaded and ready to make waves in women’s college basketball. Leading the way is 6’3” forward, Sierra Campisano. Coming from Torrey Pines High School (San Diego, CA), Campisano has had quite an unconventional road to becoming one of the nation’s most promising prospects. Along with prospects such as Ruthy Hebard, Morgan Yaeger, Mallory McGwire, and as of this week, Sabrina Ionescu, Campisano plans to lead this young group and bring the Ducks back to the top of their conference.

 

It is clear that Sierra Campisano is ecstatic to join a great group of commits next year at Oregon, but before she can do that, she still has some work to do. “I want to be prepared to go to the next level. That’s gonna be a really big jump for me.” explained the high school senior. “The Pac-12 is gonna be a lot different than high school, so I want to get better overall. However, I want to improve my defense and my strength a lot.”

Drawing comparisons to 2015 WNBA MVP, Elena Delle Donne, Campisano works hard to keep up with the high expectations that come with being a top-15 player in the 2016 class. “I really like Elena Delle Donne. I watched her in college.” says the 6’3” forward. “People say that we have similar games. Her moves are awesome and I love watching them.”

 

   If Campisano can be close to as good as Delle Donne at the next level, then college basketball fans are in for a show. With hopes of making a run in the NCAA Tournament, the Ducks are geared up for a solid 2016-2017 season. “I want to help the team as much as I can and win.” explained Campisano.

However, Campisano will be doing more than playing basketball at Oregon. She says that while she is going to enroll as undecided, she is considering majoring in education or broadcasting and communications, saying, “I’m thinking about going into education so that I could be a teacher -- or broadcasting and communications so that I could be a sportscaster on TV. They’re a little different, but I’m thinking about those two.”

 

There is no doubt that keeping up with school can be tough, especially for Campisano, being a student-athlete, but she handles it all in stride. “My main thing is that I've had to say no to a lot of things because of basketball,” says Campisano. “I probably don’t go out as much as most kids my age do. I’m in the gym late nights, putting in as much work as I can and using my time wisely.”

Time management is definitely something that Campisano excels at, and it should aid her in college, where she will have to keep up with rigorous schoolwork, along with a tough Pac-12 schedule. Campisano was also able to preview how she will handle tough situations with her ability to get through the recruiting process with ease. “I’ve talked to a lot of people that were super stressed out and committed as soon as possible to get it off of their minds, but I really enjoyed it,” she stated. “It was really fun for me, getting to learn about all of these programs that I grew up watching.”

 

If Sierra Campisano can continue to dominate, on and off the court, as she has done throughout her high school career, then college basketball fans better prepare. Throughout her four years at Torrey Pines High School, Campisano has proven to be a top player in her class and someone to keep an eye on in the 2016 class. As she said it best: “I’m motivated, honestly, by just the love of the game. I love playing basketball and I love to compete. I love playing with my teammates and playing to win. I want to be the basketball player that I know I can be to help my team in the future.”