By Lincoln Arneal
Two weeks ago, Ryan Hunter received the full-court press while attending the Dream Team volleyball camp at Nebraska.
She was the only uncommitted rising junior at the camp and received lots of one-on-one time with Husker pledges, coaches and current players. Hunter said she felt no pressure while at the camp despite all the attention. Instead, she felt comfortable and at home during her few days in Lincoln.
Hunter enjoyed her experience at Nebraska, learning about how the coaches operate, getting to know current Huskers and why they enjoy playing for Nebraska. She was also impressed with how interactive NU coach John Cook was with all the players.
On Thursday, Hunter made her commitment public, becoming the fourth member of the 2025 Huskers’ class.
“The environment at Nebraska was very chill and homey,” she said. “They never really established pressure. They always made it known that I can take my time and that they are in no rush, and I’m in no rush. I didn’t feel pressured to play a certain way or anything like that. I just felt very chilled because of the environment that they set.”
Hunter, a 6-foot-2 left-handed opposite, is the No. 11 prospect according to PrepVolleyball.com and ranked No. 35 by PrepDig. She joins outside hitter Teraya Sigler, setter Campbell Flynn and libero/defensive Keri Leimbach in NU’s class.
As a sophomore, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native averaged 3.9 kills per set with a .236 hitting percentage at Mallard Creek High School. She also recorded 72 aces and 163 digs.
Hunter has had a busy recruiting period since it opened on June 15. She wanted to take the process at a deliberate pace but was overwhelmed by calls – upwards of seven a day recently.
She narrowed her list to eight schools – Nebraska, Florida, Penn State, Wisconsin LSU, Louisville, USC and UCLA. This summer, she’s camped at Penn State, Pitt and Wisconsin. She earned all-tournament honors at junior nationals while helping her Triangle club team place fifth. On top of all that, she also worked out with the National Team Development Program in Florida. Hunter said she knows Flynn, Leimbach and 2024 commit Ayden Ames through the program, and NU assistant coach Jaylen Reyes also worked with her previously.
After getting back from NTDP, Hunter finally had a few days at home where she could contemplate her college decision. While each school presented her with the possibilities of a good education and training, her thoughts kept returning to Nebraska.
“It was definitely a difficult decision,” Hunter said. “Ultimately, it came down to the bonds that I made with the coaches, the players on the team and even the ’24 and ’25 commits. It came down to what school I felt would best help me achieve my goals, which are to win a national championship, to play on the national team and to play professionally. I felt like Nebraska had the environment and the resources to help me achieve those goals.”
Hunter’s older sister, Keimaya, played at North Carolina from 2014-17. Hunter said she learned a lot about the recruiting process and the game from her. Her older sister served as an unofficial coach growing up and helped as her first coach in middle school. Hunter said Keimaya and her parents were quite involved in her decision as well.
“It was very important for me that my family was included in this process,” she said. “Given that my sister went through this as well, that definitely helped. She walked me through a whole bunch of things and I’m so grateful that I had her during this process because it made it like 10 times easier.”
After all the travel the past month, Hunter is ready for a break. To celebrate her hard work and college decision, she is taking a family vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, before school starts.
“I have not been home for basically the whole month of July, so I’m definitely going to take some rest,” she said. “I’m gonna be well rested for the high school season.”
