Payton Muma commits to Gonzaga University
Payton Muma Payton Muma 5'9" | PG Highlands Ranch | 2021 State CO had planned to commit to a school before her final club basketball season and there seemed to be no better time than Friday afternoon to go ahead and make the announcement.
So via Twitter on Friday, the Highlands Ranch point guard and well-regarded recruit announced that she has verbally committed to will play Division-I basketball at Gonzaga University next season.
“I visited them last summer and I just fell in love with the place,” Muma said. “They just really stood out to me and I’ve loved it ever since then. The coaches were really good to me and just the place itself was really nice. It just felt like the best fit me.”
Sko Zags Baby 💙❤️🏀 pic.twitter.com/zdA669yMVH
— Payton Muma (@payton_muma) March 27, 2020
The No. 2-ranked player in the PGH Colorado Class of 2021 rankings, Muma is coming off an exceptional junior season with Highlands Ranch. She led the Falcons with 15.2 points per game, and also averaged 4.1 assists, three steals and 2.9 rebounds, and helped the Highlands Ranch girls reach the Final Four for the second year in a row.
When it’s all said and done, the 5-foot-8 guard should leave Highlands Ranch as a 1,000-point scorer and among the program’s leaders in assists.
[player_tooltip player_id="95123" first="Payton" last="Muma"]“A couple things that are really cool about Payton is that she’s really enthusiastic and she’s a great teammate,” Highlands Ranch head coach Caryn Jarocki said. “She’s willing to hear positive comments as well as criticism and she’s always willing to get better.”
Muma reportedly had 10 full-ride offers and was also seriously considering Colorado State, San Diego and Wyoming before making her final decision. Now that she’s committed, Muma said she hopes she’ll get to have a club season with Jarocki and Colorado Basketball Club, and is looking forward to taking one more shot at the state title with Highlands Ranch next winter.
“It helps me just focus on basketball a lot more and not have to worry about the recruiting process as much,” Muma said. “Now I just need to keep working hard and keep getting better so I can be ready when I get to Gonzaga. I really want to try to win a state championship and I’m excited for me last season as a Falcon. I just feel like I’m going to be more motivated than I was before.”