SE: Sundell Brings K-State Connections to Wildcat Hoops
Jul 23, 2021 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
A few weeks after she got to campus, Serena Sundell saw Chris Klieman across the West Stadium Center dining hall and walked over to say hello.
This was not the moment, and this is the part to remember for later, when it hit her that she was a Wildcat.
She just wanted to meet the other K-State head coach with experience recruiting a Sundell.
"My brother played for him [at North Dakota State] and Coach [Connor] Riley was his offensive line coach," she said. "It's pretty cool how that connection worked out."
Jalen Sundell is a center with the Bison, arriving in Fargo after leading Maryville High School to a state championship in 2017.
That's right around the time his sister was going out for the basketball team.
She's one of five newcomers on K-State this season, and alongside players from Australia, Denmark and a pair of twins, might be the easiest to write off as "Serena from Missouri."
Except Serena from Missouri is undeniable on a basketball court.
Start with the resume, 2021 Miss Show-Me Basketball and the No. 3 high school player in Missouri (Prep Girls Hoops). Sundell also won a state title in volleyball and led Maryville to the state championship game in 2020, averaging 25/6/4. What you can't measure is her commitment to K-State Women's Basketball - you just have to hear stories about how she showed up for summer workouts the day after prom.
"Prom was supposed to be in May, but they moved it back to June so that none of the spring sport athletes had to quarantine," she said. "It was weird saying goodbye to my friends that night and going to college the very next day. They went home and I went home and the next day I was in the car with all of my things headed to Manhattan."
Due to COVID-19, Sundell didn't have a traditional recruitment to K-State. Despite growing up less than three hours from Manhattan in northwest Missouri, she couldn't visit campus in 2021.
She had made a few trips to Manhattan before the pandemic but had to find other ways to learn about the culture of K-State Women's Basketball as she weighed her future. Another Wildcat with some experience playing volleyball and basketball was just a phone call away.
"Peyton [Williams] is a role model for a lot of people and obviously I had watched her play on TV. My mom really pushed me to make that phone call," Sundell said. "I asked her a lot of questions and she definitely influenced my decision - she only had good things to say about K-State, the program and the coaching staff."
Her brother was another resource, just a few years after going through the recruitment process with Klieman at North Dakota State.
Jalen Sundell told Serena about the "instant feeling" he had after visiting North Dakota State, a school with an unmatched pedigree in college football.
"I had the same feeling when I came to K-State," she said. "I know that idea that it 'felt like home' is a cliche, but seeing Jalen go through that process and my parents had that experience under their belt, so that made it easier for me. They were all a big part of my support system and helping me make that decision."
And when she finally got to Manhattan, Sundell didn't have to do it alone.
The other half of K-State's freshmen class in 2021, twins Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn, have been playing club basketball with Sundell since middle school.
"Everyone is so shocked but it's just another wild connection," she said. "That's also made this transition very easy. We're rooming together and just getting even closer."
Since she got to Manhattan in June, Sundell has been meeting her teammates and focused on building chemistry. Getting to know the coaching staff has also been a highlight, along with the kind of K-State comparison they don't just hand out.
"When I was being recruited, they would call me a skinnier Kayla Goth," Sundell said. "Obviously she was very good - I'm not Kayla Goth, but I'm a tall guard and I've been working with the point guards."
A little more than eight weeks into her time as a Wildcat, Sundell is still finding her way around campus. Big 12 games are months away, but she's already starting to feel like she belongs.
Last weekend, Sundell's grandparents visited her at K-State for the first time. She showed them around Manhattan and took them to the practice courts at the Ice Family Basketball Center.
That's when it finally hit her.
"I was looking at the Powercat and I was just like 'Wow, I play here. I'm a Big 12 athlete.' That was one of those moments for me," Sundell said. "Like, this is who I am, and this is what I do."
A few weeks after she got to campus, Serena Sundell saw Chris Klieman across the West Stadium Center dining hall and walked over to say hello.
This was not the moment, and this is the part to remember for later, when it hit her that she was a Wildcat.
She just wanted to meet the other K-State head coach with experience recruiting a Sundell.
"My brother played for him [at North Dakota State] and Coach [Connor] Riley was his offensive line coach," she said. "It's pretty cool how that connection worked out."
Jalen Sundell is a center with the Bison, arriving in Fargo after leading Maryville High School to a state championship in 2017.
That's right around the time his sister was going out for the basketball team.
She's one of five newcomers on K-State this season, and alongside players from Australia, Denmark and a pair of twins, might be the easiest to write off as "Serena from Missouri."
Except Serena from Missouri is undeniable on a basketball court.
Start with the resume, 2021 Miss Show-Me Basketball and the No. 3 high school player in Missouri (Prep Girls Hoops). Sundell also won a state title in volleyball and led Maryville to the state championship game in 2020, averaging 25/6/4. What you can't measure is her commitment to K-State Women's Basketball - you just have to hear stories about how she showed up for summer workouts the day after prom.
"Prom was supposed to be in May, but they moved it back to June so that none of the spring sport athletes had to quarantine," she said. "It was weird saying goodbye to my friends that night and going to college the very next day. They went home and I went home and the next day I was in the car with all of my things headed to Manhattan."
Due to COVID-19, Sundell didn't have a traditional recruitment to K-State. Despite growing up less than three hours from Manhattan in northwest Missouri, she couldn't visit campus in 2021.
She had made a few trips to Manhattan before the pandemic but had to find other ways to learn about the culture of K-State Women's Basketball as she weighed her future. Another Wildcat with some experience playing volleyball and basketball was just a phone call away.
"Peyton [Williams] is a role model for a lot of people and obviously I had watched her play on TV. My mom really pushed me to make that phone call," Sundell said. "I asked her a lot of questions and she definitely influenced my decision - she only had good things to say about K-State, the program and the coaching staff."
Her brother was another resource, just a few years after going through the recruitment process with Klieman at North Dakota State.
Jalen Sundell told Serena about the "instant feeling" he had after visiting North Dakota State, a school with an unmatched pedigree in college football.
"I had the same feeling when I came to K-State," she said. "I know that idea that it 'felt like home' is a cliche, but seeing Jalen go through that process and my parents had that experience under their belt, so that made it easier for me. They were all a big part of my support system and helping me make that decision."
The family is growing 😺
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) June 3, 2021
Welcome to MHK, Serena Sundell 💜#KStateWBB x @serena_sundell pic.twitter.com/pS08WIBAD0
And when she finally got to Manhattan, Sundell didn't have to do it alone.
The other half of K-State's freshmen class in 2021, twins Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn, have been playing club basketball with Sundell since middle school.
"Everyone is so shocked but it's just another wild connection," she said. "That's also made this transition very easy. We're rooming together and just getting even closer."
Since she got to Manhattan in June, Sundell has been meeting her teammates and focused on building chemistry. Getting to know the coaching staff has also been a highlight, along with the kind of K-State comparison they don't just hand out.
"When I was being recruited, they would call me a skinnier Kayla Goth," Sundell said. "Obviously she was very good - I'm not Kayla Goth, but I'm a tall guard and I've been working with the point guards."
A little more than eight weeks into her time as a Wildcat, Sundell is still finding her way around campus. Big 12 games are months away, but she's already starting to feel like she belongs.
Last weekend, Sundell's grandparents visited her at K-State for the first time. She showed them around Manhattan and took them to the practice courts at the Ice Family Basketball Center.
That's when it finally hit her.
"I was looking at the Powercat and I was just like 'Wow, I play here. I'm a Big 12 athlete.' That was one of those moments for me," Sundell said. "Like, this is who I am, and this is what I do."
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