Aug. 9—LINCOLN, Neb. — South Dakota’s top girls basketball recruit for the class of 2026 is going to be a Nebraska Cornhusker.
Wagner rising senior Ashlyn Koupal, rated as the No. 12 overall player nationally in her class and a five-star prospect, according to 247Sports, announced her verbal commitment to Nebraska on Saturday morning with a post on social media containing just one word: Home.
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The 6-foot-3 guard/forward picked Nebraska from a top-five that also included TCU, Kansas, Michigan State and Duke. The Huskers are coached by Spearfish native Amy Williams, who is entering her 10th season as head coach in Lincoln.
Koupal, the Mitchell Republic girls basketball player of the year in 2023 and 2025, averaged 22.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.5 blocks and 2.3 steals per game as a junior in 2024-25. Along the way, she recorded a quadruple-double, two triple-doubles and 10 double-doubles.
Koupal also earned recognition as South Dakota’s Gatorade player of the year and a third consecutive selection to the Class A all-state first team for the Red Raiders.
In spring 2025, Koupal was one of 45 high school girls basketball stars from across the country invited to the 2025 USA Basketball women’s junior national team minicamp during the weekend of the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Florida.
