Columbus East’s Saige Stahl, right, sets up to try and dribble past Zionsville’s Mya Childress during a basketball game at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. Mike Wolanin | The Republic
The Republic file photo
From not having as many minutes on the hardwood as a freshman to becoming a near double-double producer on the court as a junior last year, Saige Stahl has been one of the state’s biggest emerging girls basketball players.
It’s no surprise that colleges began to take notice.
Stahl, an incoming senior at Columbus East, picked up several offers over the past year, but ultimately decided to further her basketball career at Indiana State.
“It’s always been in the back of my head because it is close to home and they‘ve got a great gym and arena. The coaches were super nice,” Stahl said. “When I went to visit, it was like, ‘I could see myself going here.’”
Stahl had other Division I offers from Evansville and Morehead State, as well as numerous offers from Division II, Division III and NAIA schools until deciding on the Sycamores.
Columbus East’s Saige Stahl poses for a photo during an unofficial visit to Indiana State in May.
Submitted photo
Stahl mentioned that she went to an ISU game last year, then went on an unofficial visit in May and went to an Elite Camp, where she met with some of the players earlier this summer. She plans to make an official visit to the Terre Haute campus in September.
Last winter, Stahl became as a driving force inside for the Olympians. She led the team in points (17.9), rebounds (9.5) and steals (4.5) and earned first-team All-Hoosier Hills Conference, Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Underclass Large School All-State, Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association first-team All-State and was voted by teammates as the Olympians’ Most Valuable Player. She was also named an Indiana Junior All-Star following last season and shared The Republic Girls Basketball Player of the Year honors with teammate Koryn Greiwe.
Stahl is humbled and thankful for everyone that has helped her along the way to achieve the dream of playing college basketball.
Even with the accolades last year, Stahl said she is still looking for ways to improve and get better heading into her senior year and in college.
“One thing I do think about is that I do have a good ways to go. I know that I can be such a better player, not even this year but heading into college with the right coaches. I know that I can bring something to the table, so I felt like I could do that best at Indiana State.”
Stahl played travel basketball when she was younger, but stopped so she could play volleyball. She returned to travel basketball when she got to high school and hasn’t looked back. She recently wrapped her AAU season with the Nike Gym Rats.
“Coming into my freshman year, I almost didn’t even play basketball,” Stahl said. “I’ve always played sports since fourth grade. I obviously never when I was little looked at (playing in college). As I got older, I looked at it and was like, ‘This is a real possibility,’ whether it was for volleyball or basketball. That’s when it became reality that I could go to college to play basketball, and that’s what I worked for.”
Stahl wasn’t afraid to admit that the recruiting process can get stressful at times, but she was excited to finally make her choice.
“I’m happy that I was able to get it out of the way, especially before this year started so I can really come in and enjoy my senior year,” Stahl said.
