Top recruit Zoe Young finds an Iowa connection in Maryland basketball

Zoe Young's commitment to play for Maryland's basketball program will match an Iowa star of the present with a star of the past.

The West Des Moines Valley junior-to-be — one of the state's top basketball recruits in recent years and listed by several websites as one of the nation's top prospects — announced on Twitter on Monday that she plans to play at national powerhouse Maryland.

The Terrapins are coached by Brenda Frese, a Cedar Rapids native who led Washington High School to a state championship in 1988.

Frese's parents still live in Iowa and came along on a visit when Frese scouted Young at a game last winter.

The message — coach and future player both have Iowa ties.

"The fact that we had that connection, I thought that was really cool," Young told the Register on Tuesday.

Young said she'd received 38 scholarship offers from across the country.

She selected Maryland over a list of options that included Iowa and Louisville.

Her decision will cut down on her travel to colleges.

"(I made) a lot of trips to the east; a lot of trips south," Young said.

A two-year starter who led Valley to the Class 5A state championship last March, Young has been one of the nation's top guard prospects before she even played a high school game.

She averaged 14.2 points while earning Des Moines Register All-Iowa honorable mention recognition and being named to the 5A all-tournament team.

"Extremely excited to announce my commitment to the University of Maryland," Young posted on Twitter.

Young went on to thank God, her family, friends, coaches and teammates.

Just how big of a recruit is Young? Prior to last season's state tournament, she estimated that 30 to 35 colleges had offered her scholarships.

At the time, Young was ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the U.S. by ProspectsNation and at No. 21 in the "Terrific 25" by HoopGurlz.

Young said in February that she had expected to narrow her college list to five or six schools by this summer or fall. The opportunity to play at Maryland appeared to have sped up that process.

Frese was one of the top five-on-five players of her time. She went on to play at Arizona.

She went on to become one of the most successful Iowans to coach at the college level.

Frese led Maryland to an NCAA championship in 2006 and to back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2014 and 2015.

Young was named to the Register's Iowa Eight as a freshman and sophomore.

Before her first high school game, the 5-foot-10 guard said she already received four Division I scholarship offers: Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State and Louisville.

Young said selecting a Big Ten university will give her the chance to play in front of her parents. Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota are among the programs within driving distance for her family, she said.