By Ian Smith, CycloneFanatic.com Contributor
Madison Baier isn’t even a Cyclone yet and she probably already owns a record – fastest commitment.
When Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly called Baier with a scholarship offer Tuesday afternoon, it took only a matter of seconds before Baier accepted.
It was no surprise considering the 6-foot-4 center has wanted to be a Cyclone all of her life.
“I was speechless. That was the longest wait,” said Baier, whose grandparents have held season tickets for years.
A late bloomer, Baier – who goes by “Maddy,” started receiving calls from Iowa State a couple of months ago. After a strong performance at the Cyclones’ Elite Camp recently, she earned a scholarship offer.
The South Tama native was also drawing interest from Iowa, Drake and Marquette, among others.
“Honestly, I really like Hilton,” Baier said. “I like how it’s bright, there are a lot of people there, the students are always cheering, it’s close to home.”
Baier could immediately upgrade the Iowa State defense. Last season, the class of 2012 recruit averaged 13 points, 9 rebounds and a whopping 4.5 blocks.
“Maddy makes everything easier on defense,” South Tama coach Nate Roberts said. “She commands the middle. She takes away a lot of things from opposing team’s offenses. First of all, kids driving to the basket, nobody does that against us. She’ll take away the other team’s best post player. She make the other the team score 10-15 points below their average.”
“I like to play defense better than offense because I’m always looking forward to blocking somebody’s shot,” Baier added. “I love it.”
Behind Baier, South Tama reached the 5-on-5 state tournament for the first time.
Offensively, Baier plays primarily on the block but she is comfortable shooting the ball out to 15 feet.
Baier joins Texas native Nicole Blaskowsky as Iowa State’s second known commit for the class of 2012.
