Rochelle senior continuing athletic career in Helena, Montana

Torrin Nantz’s decision to continue her academics and her basketball career at Carroll College will be a homecoming in some ways. The Lady Hub senior was born in Montana and spent the first four years of her life there before eventually making her way to Rochelle Township High School, where she’s spent the last four years with the Lady Hub basketball program.

While Nantz will continue to wear purple colors, she’ll be trading in her Rochelle uniform for a Carroll College uniform and playing her home games in Helena, Montana next winter. Nantz has spent the last two years on the varsity team, earning an All-Conference Honorable Mention in the Interstate 8 during her senior season, where she averaged 7.5 points per game and led the Lady Hubs in 3-point shooting. Nantz started at guard during both her junior and senior years.

“I’ve always wanted to go back out there and it’s been a dream of mine,” Nantz said. “Having the opportunity to play basketball makes it even greater. I’m really excited to continue playing basketball and I had the chance to meet some of the coaches and players who are there right now. I made an immediate connection with my future teammates and I’m excited about more than just basketball because there are a lot of opportunities at the school as a whole.”

Nantz helped lead the Lady Hub basketball team to eight victories during the 2022-23 season as well as 15 wins during the 2021-22 season. The senior guard totaled 10 points during Rochelle’s 49-41 win over Plano on Jan. 31 and 16 points during the team’s 53-41 victory over Stockton at the Forreston Thanksgiving Tournament. Nantz scored a season-high 18 points on six 3-pointers during Rochelle’s Interstate 8 game against Kaneland on Dec. 3, 2022.

“It will be nice wearing purple again,” Nantz said. “I’ve definitely grown as a player from where I was during my freshman year to where I am now. I don’t think I would have the opportunity to play basketball in college if I didn’t play basketball here. Their coach really likes my shooting and I’m looking forward to seeing how I fit into the team. I want to put in the most work that I can and I want to be the best basketball player I can be. I’m excited to see where that takes me.”

A multi-sport athlete, Nantz also spent four years on the Lady Hub tennis team, with her senior year coming at the varsity level. An Interstate 8 Academic All-Conference honoree in both tennis and basketball, Nantz said she’s currently undecided on her academic major. Nantz will lean on her shooting skills as she looks to earn her role on the Carroll College team next year.

“Torrin is a great leader on the floor and in the classroom,” former Lady Hubs head coach Ryan McQuade said. “She was always the first one in the gym and the last one to leave. There was no harder critic of Torrin than herself and that’s why she was able to improve so much in the two years I coached her. Torrin is the ultimate competitor.”