“Every time I would think about other schools and go through what I liked and didn’t like about them, it always came back to me comparing it to Louisville, like, every single time,” Epps said, citing proximity to home among her deciding factors. “I would talk about one school and it would be like, well, Louisville has this or did this. I didn’t do that with any other school. It was already there subconsciously, which (felt like) a really big sign.”

Louisville checked all the boxes, she continued, so rather than wait to finalize her decision and risk losing her opportunity, the junior verbally committed in early January. 

The timing of Epps’ decision also allowed her to focus on the rest of her junior season and finishing strong, and to start thinking about “developing into the type of player who’s going to compete at Louisville.” To that end, she’s working on getting stronger, developing a more consistent shot from the arc and continuing to improve both her passing and finishing around the rim. She also hopes to pick a position for college, be it the 1, the 2 or both.

“Honestly, (committing) was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders,” Epps said. The recruiting process was generally a positive experience, she later added, one which helped her mature a lot, especially when it came time to tell the other schools she’d committed to Louisville. “It was a growing experience and it built some character, for sure. Those were some hard conversations.”