Valerie Vorwaller’s college decision wasn’t technically made until early 2020, but the Marsh Valley basketball star’s path to Treasure Valley Community College started well before that.

Vorwaller’s sister, Paige, played two years at TVCC. At Paige’s signing ceremony in Marsh Valley’s gym, Valerie Vorwaller, then at the end of her freshman year, was shooting around with a few of her friends.

TVCC assistant Jeff Young made it a point to go up to the younger Vorwaller sister after the ceremony.

“He was like, ‘Just from watching you right there, I can already tell that you have really good potential, and I’ll be watching you from here on out,’” Valerie Vorwaller said. “And ever since then he just was always bugging me, ever since my sister signed there.”

That path from that meeting three years ago ended Monday, when Vorwaller signed with Treasure Valley — this time not in the gym, but in a socially-distanced ceremony outside the Marsh Valley school building.

“It was a great feeling,” Vorwaller said. “I’m super excited to meet all my new teammates, meet everybody that will be up there and all the other athletes up there.”

Vorwaller broke out after that freshman year, validating Young’s early read on her potential.

She started on the varsity team for Marsh Valley as a sophomore and made the Journal’s All-Area honorable mention as a junior, putting up 9.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Vorwaller continued that level of play as a senior despite splitting the scoring burden with breakout junior Zoie Armstrong, averaging 8.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

“She’s a very good shooter, good ballhandler, sees the floor well,” Marsh Valley coach Kyle McQuivey said.

Vorwaller was also an All-Area honorable mention for softball as a sophomore in 2018, hitting over .400.

She was looking at other colleges, but the relationship established with Treasure Valley was enough to clinch things for Vorwaller.

Paige, who came to Marsh Valley and was on the coaching staff for the basketball team this last year, might also have played a role.

“My senior year, my sister was actually on the coaching staff, and it was pretty cool to have that,” Vorwaller said. “She’s influenced me a lot.”

Vorwaller plans to study to go into the medical field at TVCC, with hopes of being a doctor’s assistant.

“I’m super, super excited to start this new chapter in my life, and I think it’s going to be an amazing experience,” Vorwaller said.