DES MOINES, Iowa — At Drake, the road home is not always a straight one.
"It's funny we were just talking the other day about her recruiting process and there was the first one and the second one," Drake Women's Basketball Coach, Jennie Baranczyk said.
Redshirt Sophomore Grace Berg took a detour.
"I made it back home and I'm glad to be here. I wouldn't rather be anywhere else," Berg said.
Berg spent four years at Indianola where she was a four time all-state selection, 5A player of the year her senior year and a top-40 college recruit.
"It came down to Drake and Mizzou and I felt, at the time, that both programs and both coaches, I had really good connections with both and I felt like they would both get a lot out of me," Berg added.
She opted for the Tigers, but the Bulldogs did not have to wait very long. Just a semester into her college career, Berg was looking for a change, so she made a call.
"When I was deciding to transfer I didn't talk to anyone else. My first call was to Jennie and I just knew."
Baranczyk said it was good knowing her during the initial recruiting process, but it did hurt when she originally committed to Mizzou.
"It was really hard to hear 'no' the first time and it was freaking amazing the second time," Baranczyk said.
After redshirting last season, she now plays just a half-hour from where her journey started.
"My family is in the crowd, playing in front of them means the world," Berg said.
And she's playing well too, averaging 18 points a game and she's already been named MVC Newcomer of the Week twice. But before she was driving the lane at the Knapp, she had to find her way home.
"I was really frustrated with myself because I was like 'oh did I make the wrong decision coming out of high school?' but I always go back to everything happens for a reason and I learned what I had to learn," Berg said.
"The biggest area for growth for her has been the smile she walks in and out of the arena with and I think that's pretty cool," Baranczyk said.
