Dani Ross moves on after illustrious career

Dani Ross has won a lot in her time at Los Lunas.

The senior played both volleyball and basketball for the Tigers and earned herself five state championship rings in the process, two from volleyball, three from basketball.

Now, she’s planning to continue her basketball career at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.

Snow College competes at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division One level and is led by head coach Mike Russell.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do at first, but after looking into the school and what it had to offer, I couldn’t turn it down,” Ross said.

Under Russell, the Badgers have eclipsed the 20-win mark in three of his five seasons.

Russell and his staff made contact with Ross at the beginning of April and moved quickly to get her on board.

Last season, the Badgers went 14-18 in Region 18, which includes the western half of Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Western Montana in addition to Utah.

For conference play, the Badgers compete in the Scenic West Athletic Conference.

“The process was super easy and functional,” Ross said. “The coaching staff was super friendly right away so it made my decision very easy to make.”

She said she expects she’ll play a similar role for the Badgers as she played at Los Lunas at power forward, based on the conversations she has had with Russell and his staff.

At Los Lunas, Ross was listed at small forward and shooting guard in addition to power forward, but primarily played down low.

Ross will become the seventh member of this year’s recruiting class for Snow.

She will be the only player from New Mexico on the roster, but Lexi Peterson, a graduate of Rio Rancho, spent the past two seasons playing for the Badgers.

Ross plans to major in biology once she gets to Snow next fall.

The college was rated as one of the top 150 community colleges in the country by the Aspen Institute.

For her, learning she had received an offer from Snow brought relief above all else.

“I was relieved because costs add up quickly and college isn’t cheap,” Ross said. “I know I’ll be okay with Snow and finally get the opportunity to just focus on basketball.”

Ross was named to the South All-Star team for the New Mexico High School Coaches Association All-Star game, which is scheduled to be played in late July in Albuquerque, depending on the development of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her final season playing basketball for the Tigers, she was a starter and helped lead the team to its third straight state championship.

She did her part in the title game and posted 11 points and eight rebounds in the 47-33 victory over Kirtland Central.

On the volleyball court, Ross appeared for the varisty squad all four years, playing a total of 127 sets and recording 142 kills, 63 aces and 31 total blocks according to stats posted on MaxPreps, which do not include her junior season.

She was a second-team All-State selection as an outside hitter and has been named an All-Star in volleyball as well as basketball.

“I could write a book about all of the wonderful times I’ve had at Los Lunas, but what stood out the most was how everyone wanted to be a part of something bigger than themselves,” Ross said.

“From the coaching staff all the way down to the managers, we worked as one with the same goal in mind. That’s what’s allowed us to be so successful.”