James Wood’s Houser Verbally Commits To Notre Dame

Posted: September 19, 2013
By KEVIN TRUDGEON

WINCHESTER — Katie Houser still has plenty of time left in her high school career, but that’s not keeping her from getting excited about what’s to come after it.

The James Wood junior volleyball standout verbally committed to the University of Notre Dame Tuesday in a moment that she described as both “exciting” and “surreal” in a phone interview Wednesday.

“I was actually sitting in the James Wood parking lot after dropping my little brother off for practice when it happened,” Houser said. “I wasn’t expecting it.”

Houser said she first heard from Notre Dame after playing in a tournament in Minneapolis at the end of last year and had been in contact with the Fighting Irish coaching staff over the summer.

She visited the campus in August and was told that it was between her and another girl for the scholarship offer.

“I knew it was going to go one way or the other this week,” Houser said. “[Coach Debbie Brown] emailed me and told me to give her a call [Tuesday}. I thought it was still to get to know her, but she was saying all these things about how much they liked me and I kept waiting for a ‘but’ and for her to say they offered the other girl. Then she offered me.”

In Houser, the Fighting Irish are not just getting someone who will fit in perfectly — she’s both Irish and Catholic — but also a player who should be able to help out on the volleyball court.

The reigning Northwestern District Volleyball Player of the Year, the 5-foot-11 Houser totaled an area-best 451 kills to go along with a team-high 84 aces and 220 digs to earn All-Region II First Team honors and an All-Group AA honorable mention as a sophomore last year.

She helped lead the Colonels to their first state tournament appearance in a decade and was the 2012-13 Winchester Star Female Athlete of the Year.

Notre Dame is coming off a 20-10 season in which it went 13-2 in the Big East Conference but was swept by Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Houser said she thinks the program, which has been in the top 25 in the past, is on the rise, but that’s not the only reason she made her commitment.

“One of the reasons I made this choice is with my injury I’ve learned that I have to be prepared for anything and even if volleyball doesn’t work out for me Notre Dame is one of the best schools in the country,” said Houser, who is out for the season with a foot injury. “They’re very strong academically and that’s important.”

James Wood coach Jill Couturiaux said she couldn’t be more excited for Houser and what a commitment like this means to the volleyball community.

“It’s an incredible opportunity for Katie. I’m so proud of her and know she’s going to do great things,” Couturiaux said. “It speaks volumes for the kind of student-athlete she is and it’s great for the sport of volleyball in this area.”

NCAA rules dictate that Houser cannot officially sign a national letter of intent until her senior year — she’s hoping to arrange to do it on her birthday on Nov. 14 — but she said she’s set on Notre Dame.

“Once I make a decision, I commit to it,” Houser said. “I don’t feel like I’ll ever change my mind. I’ve visited a lot of schools like Duke, UNC and Auburn and it just wasn’t the same. I don’t think I could be as happy anywhere else.”

— Contact Kevin Trudgeon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. on Twitter @WinStarSports1