A pair of Highland athletes made their college intentions known recently, as Ashton Terrill signed to play volleyball for Northern Kentucky University on Tuesday and Max Schreiber signed to play baseball for the University of Nebraska Friday. Both athletes will be competing at the Division I level.
Terrill, a four-time Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference first-team pick, noted that Northern Kentucky, located in Highland Heights, Kentucky, looks to be a great fit for her.
“It’s such a relief,” she said of signing. “When I went on my official visit, it was great knowing I’d be there the next four years. I’d been getting letters and looked into it. It was probably my eighth or ninth visit that it felt right. It was so much like home. I liked that it wasn’t huge. I didn’t want to go to a huge school like Ohio State or a small one. This is medium.”
Terrill, who is planning to major in exercise science or sports management, will have a position change from high school, as she’ll be moving from outside hitter to libero while with the Norse. However, she noted it wouldn’t be a big adjustment for her, as she has a lot of experience at libero from club play.
“I have club season and I’m a libero there,” she said. “Once I got in higher competitive situations, it was more fun. I like passing better than hitting.”
Terrill has many positive memories from a high school career that saw her Scot team reach the regional finals three times in four years, including a berth in the state semifinals this year.
“Just the friendships,” she said when asked what she’d miss most about being a member of the Scots. “After Friday (the state semifinal match), I just sat in the locker room and cried because I didn’t want it to end. My advice would be to play for your teammates. We played for each other all the time.”
Schreiber, who was a first-team Blue Division pick last spring, will be pitching in the Big Ten after signing with Nebraska. After his sophomore season, he set a goal to pitch collegiately and now he’ll have that opportunity.
“They first contacted me in the late summer or early fall,” he said. “I really enjoyed talking with their pitching coach and loved their facilities. The biggest thing was the environment and their fan base. The support they get in Lincoln is insane.”
In order to reach his goal, Schreiber put in the necessary work to get the attention of college coaches.
“I needed to get exposure, so I started going to showcases” he said. “Last year, I joined a travel team and throughout the season, I was contacted by coaches.”
The Scot senior also was considering Youngstown State and Toledo, but picked the Cornhuskers. He noted that living in Big Ten country made Nebraska an exciting choice.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Growing up and being a Buckeye fan and watching Big Ten games. I’ve watched Nebraska on TV and it’s crazy to think I’ll be playing at that level.”
Schreiber, who is considering business management as his major, added that Nebraska looks at him as a player who can be groomed to be a key contributor on the mound.
“They really liked the academic side,” he said in describing what the Cornhuskers liked about him. “They also like my projectability with my height. They like my velocity and what they see me projecting as.”
