Alan Hoskins, Supervisor of Public Information
Friday, June 01, 2012
College Advancement
Kansas City Kansas Community College scoring leader Cassie Sobaski will continue her basketball career at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.
A 5-7 guard from Brighton, Iowa, Sobaski led the Blue Devils in scoring (11.1) and assists (3.3) and was second in rebounding (5.0) before a torn ACL sidelined her for the final seven games of the season. Two games before suffering the injury against Highland Feb. 11, Sobaski scored a career high 29 points against Allen County.
Sobaski had narrowed her choices to Central Missouri, Springfield College and Missouri Western before selecting the Lady Griffons, who will be under new coach Rob Edmisson. “The new coach is awesome,” says Sobaski. “He runs a one post, four guard double down offense that is really cool and unique.”
Selected over 171 other applicants, Edmisson came to the Griffons from Oklahoma City University where his 2012 team won the NAIA national championship with a 35-1 record. In a 16-year coaching career, he has a 514-150 career record including a 212-31 record, five Sooner Conference championships and seven straight national tournament teams at Oklahoma City. Edmisson began his career at Hutchinson Community College, compiling a 9-year record of 192-89, and then was an assistant at Oklahoma State for three seasons.
“Cassie will be a good fit at Missouri Western,” said KCKCC Coach Valerie Stambersky. “They’re looking for her to be a scorer and she can do that. I’m glad everything worked out after suffering the knee injury.”
Sobaski, who will be continuing her rehabilitation under the KCKCC athletic training staff this summer, said the next few months will determine her status for the coming season. “I’ll see how it goes in the first exhibition; if it’s not fully healed, I’ll redshirt,” she said.
Sobaski was recruited by KCKCC assistant coach Alicia Roth. “Coach was scouting Melanie Phipps of Mount Pleasant (Iowa) High School and saw me play,” says Sobaski. A junior at Washington High School at the time, she was signed a year later.
“I’ve had a great time here, I love Kansas City,” said Sobaski, who will be joined at Western Missouri by her favorite KCKCC baseball player, pitcher Mark Spreckels.