Recruiting | Washington recruit Carly DeHoog trades the pitcher’s mound for the volleyball court

6’4 hitter from Ontario, California is rated one of the nation’s top recruits

Carly DeHoog figures she got into the game a little late. No one recruited her until halfway through her sophomore year at Southern California’s Ontario Christian High School.

Carly DeHoog displays her National Letter of Intent
to attend the University of Washington
-Chino Champion

“Some girls are looked at their freshman year,” she says. “Colleges kind of have their eye on them by then. I was a couple months behind other girls.”

Not that DeHoog wasn’t interested in sports. It’s just that volleyball wasn’t always her first choice.

“When I was in middle school, I really wanted to be a big-time softball pitcher,” she says. “I had an opportunity to be good—I took pitching lessons.”

But she kept growing taller—she’s now six-foot-four—and decided to try basketball and volleyball. She made her high school varsity basketball and softball teams as a freshman, and played on a noncompetitive club volleyball team in her spare time. Eventually, volleyball won her heart.

“It’s kind of hard to say exactly what it is,” DeHoog says. “In volleyball, I wanted to get better. In basketball and softball, I wanted to be good, but part of it was always social. I wanted to hang out with my friends.

“But, with volleyball, I realized I had an opportunity to get to be a high level player. That’s something I really wanted to work for. I enjoy competing. With volleyball, there wasn’t any time when I didn’t want to work on it.

“Volleyball’s more of a team sport. In softball, you’re out on an island to pitch. You’re out by yourself. It’s a slower-paced game. The speed and the adrenaline rush you get in volleyball is much more appealing to me.”

By her junior year, DeHoog was a certified volleyball prospect, and Washington was one of the first colleges to pay serious attention.

“I really knew nothing about Washington’s program,” she remembers, “other than, in general, they were pretty good.”

Traditional powers like Florida, Tennessee and even Stanford showed interest. But with an aunt and a great-aunt both living in Western Washington, she decided to include UW on her list of unofficial visits. She was hooked.

“The coaches, the girls, the campus,” she says. “No other school really compared to how much I liked Washington.”

After committing to Washington, she had a monster senior year. PrepVolleyball.com rated her one of the top-20 high school seniors in the nation. Watching the Huskies complete another Top-10 season (they finished ninth in the coaches’ and media polls) only reinforced her decision to sign a National Letter of Intent.

“Jim (McLaughlin’s) coaching style is very appealing. He pushes the girls. They really look at their technique on film. He helps the girls in college—and after college, too—to help them be successful.”

DeHoog also knows that McLaughlin has no reservations about letting freshmen compete for spots in the starting lineup. Two of this year’s freshmen—Katy Beals and Cassie Strickland—were starters most of the season, and two others—Melanie Wade and Lianna Sybeldon—saw significant time on the court.

“I definitely appreciate that,” DeHoog says. “I want to do whatever he wants me to do, whatever will benefit the team.”

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