The top junior in the Omaha Metro has chosen to stay close to home to play college volleyball. Elkhorn North outside hitter Reagan Wallraff announced her commitment to Creighton and new coach Brian Rosen on Monday.
Division I coaches could begin contacting 2027 recruits directly on June 15, but Wallraff’s dad, Brandon, didn’t want the calls and texts keeping her up all night. So she put the phone away before midnight, went to bed and woke up the next day ready to begin her recruiting process in earnest.
The 6-foot Wallraff only planned to take four calls initially in the hopes that her top schools would offer her. First came Tennessee, then Arizona State, then Creighton.
“Once I got that call from Creighton, I just knew I was going to want to go there,” Wallraff told Hurrdat Sports. “Yeah, that was an important call.”
Wallraff got a chance to check out several top programs while hitting the camp circuit, but what separated Creighton from the rest was the coaching staff, even after the surprise coaching change. Wallraff specifically mentioned new recruiting coordinator Izzy Ashburn, who won a national championship as a player at Wisconsin.
“Kirsten [Bernthal Booth] leaving was obviously a big one, but I think Brian is such an amazing coach, so that didn’t really affect my decision,” Wallraff said. “Their culture is just really good, it has such a family feel when I went there, and it’s just a really amazing program. They have a really good winning mentality, like, they don’t want to lose. Obviously, they only lost to like the top three schools, which is really good, and they went to five sets with all of them. So I think that just made me really want to go there.”
Wallraff played with Booth’s daughters, Reese and Hayden, at Elkhorn North, so she was well-acquainted with the Jays’ former head coach. The news of Booth’s resignation caught Wallraff by surprise.
“At first, right when she resigned and whatever, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I really wanted to go play for her.’ … Then when I found out it was Brian, I was like, ‘That does not change my perspective on Creighton,’” Wallraff said. “I still love Creighton because I love Brian and I think Brian is just like Kirsten; he loves bonding with his team. I think that culture with the coaches and the team is really important, and that’s still what Brian has that Kirsten had.”
Wallraff didn’t grow up in Omaha, though most of her family lives in Nebraska. Seeking a fresh start, the Wallraffs moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Omaha, just before Reagan began high school. Like most volleyball fans and players, she was very aware of the Cornhuskers, but it didn’t take her long after arriving to discover what Creighton volleyball is all about.
“When I got here, I loved Nebraska,” Wallraff said. “I was always rooting for Nebraska, I was always like, ‘Oh my gosh, Harper Murray,’ like all that. And then when I started going to Creighton games, I was like their gym isn’t as big as Nebraska’s and stuff, but it feels like there are so many fans and there’s so much love for Creighton, just as much as there is for Nebraska. I think that’s really cool that people do always support Creighton and it’s not all about Nebraska. I think that was really cool about Creighton, because going into that gym, it just felt like such a good place to be.”
Her family — including her grandparents — being close enough to come watch her play sold her even more on picking Creighton, as did Rosen and his staff making her feel like a priority.
“He explained to me how big of a role I would have at Creighton and how excited he was for me to go there,” Wallraff said of the conversation with Rosen. “I think that was really good to hear, because a lot of people go through recruiting and hear ‘I’m sorry, but you’re not my number one.’ And I think it was really cool to hear how much he actually really wanted me. On that call, I could just tell how much he wanted me, and I was really excited to hear that, because I really love coaches that show they’re really interested in you.”
Wallraff made an immediate impact for Elkhorn North as a freshman, averaging 4.3 kills per set on .422 hitting at middle blocker as the Wolves finished as Class B runner-up, falling to Skutt Catholic in five sets in the championship. She moved to outside hitter during her sophomore year, averaging 6.1 kills per set on .403 hitting and 2.9 digs per set as Elkhorn North fell to Skutt again in the state tournament, this time in the semifinals.
“Obviously moving from middle to outside was a really big transition, because you have to learn how to serve receive, you have to learn how to play defense back row, and I think it was really fun,” Wallraff said. “I knew I was an undersized middle, so I knew I was going to have to try something different eventually if I wanted to play at a higher level. But I think it’s good that I actually also learned how to play middle and outside, because now I’m a versatile player, so I can do I can do slides, I can do whatever.
“Brian was saying how he really thinks that I’m going to be a good contributor because I have a really fast arm, and that playing middle has helped that, because I’ve been hitting a lot of ones and stuff. All the coaches have said, I have a really good arm, and I think that’s a really good compliment for me.”
Wallraff has used that powerful arm to surpass 1,000 career kills on over .400 hitting in just two seasons. She’s the 23rd-ranked player in the 2027 class according to PrepVolleyball.com, while PrepDig has her ranked 52nd. She’ll join two other highly touted recruits at Creighton as Allie Hudgins (No. 19 for PrepVolleyball, No. 29 for PrepDig) and Ruthie Robinson (114th for PrepDig) also committed to the Bluejays.
Hudgins is a 6-foot-4 outside hitter from Texas who averaged 3.0 kills per set and 2.4 digs per set during her first two seasons at Westlake High School in Austin. She’ll play at Highland Park High School in Dallas this season.
Robinson is a 6-foot middle blocker from Bishop O’Gorman High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Wallraff said she met Robinson at Creighton’s camp and learned they played club against each other while she was still in Arizona. She’s also competed against Hudgins on the club circuit. Wallraff said she’s excited to get to know them both more.
Wallraff announced her commitment on the same day that her Nebraska One 16 Synergy club teammate Malorie Boesiger chose to follow in her sister’s footsteps and commit to Nebraska. Boesiger, a setter at Norris, is ranked 14th by PrepVolleyball and 35th by PrepDig. Boesiger and Wallraff compete against each other during the high school season as EMC rivals and with each other the club season, and now they’ll see each other across the net again in college.
“I think it’s really cool that people were like, ‘oh, Reagan’s going to Creighton and now Malorie’s going to Nebraska and they’re rivals now,’” Wallraff said. “I think people really like that we’re both staying here. And I knew Malorie was going to have a big future ahead of her. I could totally see her at Nebraska and I think that’s really good for her. I’m excited to get to play her, I’m excited to get to see her across the net, and I think it will be really fun.”
Wallraff said her plan is to graduate from Elkhorn North early and enroll at Creighton for the spring semester in 2027. Her focus for the next year and a half will be getting stronger, improving her already impressive vertical even more and enjoying her last two seasons playing for Coach Jenny Gragert at Elkhorn North.
The Wolves return most of their lineup, including Reagan’s younger sister Reese, and should be a state title contender again during the 2025 season with the future Bluejay leading the way.
