Ella Kuhlman, a junior shooting guard for the North Branch girls basketball team, has set her eyes on her future home: the University of Concordia-St. Paul.
The star athlete just recently made a verbal commitment to join the Golden Bear community, where she will continue her academic and athletic career following her senior year starting in the fall of 2025.
A number of different schools were interested in Kuhlman’s talents, including the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota State-Moorhead, Crookston, Wayne and Minot State, as well as two NAIA schools in Dakota State and Grandview University – just to name a few.
“I firstly want to give thanks to the Lord, who has given me all the things necessary to allow me to play basketball at the next level. Without him and the people he’s surrounded me with, this dream wouldn’t be attainable,” Kuhlman stated.
“Secondly, I want to thank my parents, as well as my extended family, who’ve shown a tremendous amount of support throughout my high school and AAU seasons, which I am so thankful for. I also want to thank past and present coaches, which coaching is not an easy task, but they have all helped me in a variety of ways.
“I want to also thank Brett Harper at Xplode Sports Training for providing me with a great facility and for training me to improve my overall speed and strength. Lastly, I want to thank Steve and Liz Lelm for allowing me to use the Box – an indoor basketball court – whenever I wanted to, and also their constant support for North Branch athletics.”
Kuhlman put together a solid junior season statistically, averaging 17.6 points per game, while shooting 34% from the field, along with a free throw percentage of 84%. A season-high point total of 31 on March 2 vs. Rock Ridge, she also wound up connecting on 33% of her 3-point attempts.
Outside of being a key staple on the varsity basketball team, Kuhlman also competes in track and field in the spring, which she’s been in since the eighth grade.
“It gives me a chance to compete in an individual sport, as well as staying in shape for summer basketball. Growing up, I had loved playing soccer – from rec to club – but I decided to quit to really focus on basketball. It’s my passion,” Kuhlman said.
Kuhlman detailed the reasons as to why she ended up choosing Concordia-St. Paul.
“What separated them from the rest of the schools that were interested was being able to still play in front of my family who have supported me since I was young,” Kuhlman said. “Also, in the last few years, they have finished in the top half of the conference and have developed a winning culture. Academically, I’m going into business – which they are known for – and I liked the small class sizes, especially being a student-athlete.”
Regarding personal goals and expectations, including from a team standpoint, Kuhlman discussed the certain milestones she hopes she and her team will achieve this winter.
“Individually, I would love to break 2,000 career points as well as increasing my overall stat averages in all categories. As a whole team, the majority of us will be seniors, so I expect us to want to be better than we were last year,” Kuhlman said.
“There were so many games we lost by single digits the year before, so our goal is to beat those teams this year.”
In terms of what Kuhlman is most excited for when she eventually arrives on the campus of Concordia-St. Paul: “I look forward to bringing my skills to the next level amongst other highly-motivated and committed athletes at Concordia.
“What’s exciting is that my North Tartan AAU teammate, Cierra Kortan, who I’ve played with the last two years, will be joining me on the team. I’m super excited,” Kuhlman said, regarding having a familiar face alongside her.
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