St. Mary’s Josephine Howery commits to Colorado School of Mines

Another of Colorado’s top recruits is staying in-state to begin her collegiate basketball career. On Monday, Oct. 7, BC Denver Basketball Club announced via Twitter that St. Mary’s High School senior Josephine Howery has committed to play basketball at Colorado School of Mines next season. On Tuesday, Howery said she considered a number of factors while making her decision but Colorado School of Mines just seemed to have the right mix of what she was looking for. “A lot of it was the academics part,” Howery said. “I take my academics as seriously as basketball. It’s about the big picture because I love basketball and I also want to be in a good place when it’s time to go out and start working five years from now. It was also such a great fit. I love the coaches, I love the players and I’m just so excited.” https://x.com/BCDenver_WBB/status/1181221597950222338 Howery, who had multiple offers on the table from other schools, said she always thought she’d end up in the Midwest because she has a lot of family there. But visiting Mines opened her eyes to several other advantages she’d have if she stayed in Colorado. “After visiting Mines, I realized how cool it would be that my family and friends, and former teammates, can come and watch me play,” Howery said. “And I’ll be playing in the RMAC so I’ll already be pretty familiar with the conference.” Howery, the Colorado High School Activities Association's 2018 Class 3A Player of the Year, also said she liked the idea of playing with BC Denver alumni like Sammy Van Sickle (Ralston Valley HS), Ashley Steffeck (Fossil Ridge HS) and Denali Pinto (Fairview HS) at Mines, as well as facing several other local products in the RMAC. Coming off a junior season in which she averaged 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.0 steals a game, Howery is the early favorite to repeat as 3A’s player of the year. Now with her college commitment out of the way, she can focus full-time on leading the St. Mary’s Pirates to their third straight state championship this winter. “It’s kind of relieving and I’m also just really excited for senior season,” Howery said. “We’ve had a good run but in a lot of ways for us seniors it feels like we have unfinished business because we want to go out on the highest note possible.” Howery joins local players like Cherry Creek’s Cali Clark and Cherokee Trail’s Makayla Hemingway, both of whom recently committed to Colorado State, as home-grown prospects who will remain in Colorado for college.