GREEN RIVER — Green River High School senior Ashelynn Birch signed her national letter of intent on Wednesday afternoon to play for Utah State University Eastern located in Price, Utah.
Birch’s decision comes after receiving multiple offers, including Western Wyoming Community College. She said that the decision was hard, but she felt confident in her decision to join the Golden Eagles.
“I felt in the end it was better for me to go a little farther away to grow as a person,” Birch said.
Birch isn’t set on what she will study while at USU Eastern, but she has given some thought to getting her associates of science or studying something related to exercise science or health science.
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Friends and a Ball
Growing up, Birch was involved an a handful of activities. She was first introduced to basketball when she was in third grade. By the time she reached fifth grade, she made up her mind that she liked dribbling the basketball more than she liked dancing.
As she continued her young career, Birch and her friend group put many miles on the road during traveling basketball season. The experiences on the road built friendships and solidified her love for having the ball in her hands.
“It was the thing I liked and decided to pursue,” Birch said.
When she hit her first two years of high school basketball, Birch realized that she could continue playing in college. Since that realization, she’s worked hard to get recruited over the last few years.
Birch lettered all four years of her high school career. During her junior year, she was awarded first team all-conference and second team all-state. That same season, she broke the GRHS rebounding record for most rebounds in a season with 340 rebounds.
Patience in the Process
Birch e-mailed USU Eastern in the fall, but they had already put out some offers to other recruits. She didn’t hear back for about a month which created some doubt as to her future with the Golden Eagles. She talked with several other schools ranging from local WWCC to a school in Oregon.
To Birch’s surprise, USU Eastern e-mailed her back in December 2019. An assistant coach with the Golden Eagles expressed the team’s interest in her and wanted to set up a meeting with her.
Birch scheduled her official visit for January. Her trip to USU Eastern went well and left her with a tough decision to make.
“I went home and talked to my family about it for a week and then I just really felt like this was the place for me to go,” Birch said.
USU Eastern only about an hour away from Birch’s grandmother and cousins and two hours away from an uncle in Colorado. Having family nearby was one of the main factors in her decision.
Pushing Onward
The Green River Wolves are one of the hottest teams in 4A girl’s basketball. Birch has helped her team to a 10-4 record with a 2-0 start on the season in conference play. For the future Golden Eagle, focusing on helping her team to the state championship game this year is her top priority.
“Right now we’re doing really good,” Birch said. “Our goal is to go undefeated in our conference. We’re just working really hard in practice on defense and being able to get up and down the floor. Offensively, we are one of the best shooting teams in the state. We just need to pick up our defense and we’ll be a great team.”
Green River is currently ranked fourth in 4A girl’s basketball, but Birch is excited to see what the rest of the season brings.
“I’m really excited to see what comes out of us. We’ve got a lot of talent and opportunities,” Birch said.
