Pictured during her freshman basketball season in 2019-2020, Walpole rising junior and multi-sport star Brooke Walonis committed to play Division I soccer at UConn this past week.
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Walpole High School rising junior Brooke Walonis announced her commitment to play Division I soccer at the University of Connecticut this past week. A multi-sport star for the school's varsity soccer and basketball teams since her freshman year, Walonis made the announcement on her personal Twitter account on August 25
"I can’t even describe the feeling, honestly," said Walonis when asked about how it feels to know she'll be competing at the next level. "Half of the time it doesn’t seem real to me and it hasn’t fully set in, but on the other side I am so beyond excited for what’s to come."
So, why UConn? Walonis says the minute she stepped onto campus in Storrs on her official visit, she felt at home.
"My parents always told me that I would get a gut feeling when I found the right place for me and I never really took that saying seriously until I stepped onto campus at UConn," said Walonis. "Everything from the coaches, players, campus, and environment checked every box for me and I just knew I could see this place as a home in the future. One of the biggest things Coach Mags stressed to me during this process was to go see everything and figure out what I liked and what I didn’t. In doing so, I realized more and more that UConn was the perfect fit for me."
Any student applying to college, as well as every parent of a student applying to college, can agree that the entire process is a factory of stress. For Walonis, committing to UConn before the start of her junior season represents a massive load off of her and her family's shoulders.
"I definitely feel a sense of relief knowing where I will be in two years, and I’m glad I won’t have to deal with that stress my senior year like most people will," said Walonis. "With that being said, I feel like I kind of went through all that stress this summer once communication opened up with coaches on June 15 and the COVID restrictions for fans opened up as well. I would say my recruiting process wasn’t too too long because it started in late June after nationals in California and finished up in August, so I am very lucky in that sense. At the end of the day, I feel really lucky and grateful to have this opportunity and am so excited for what’s to come."
As far as the road ahead in the classroom, Walonis says she plans to study business at UConn and then pursue law school following her graduation. Certainly, there's some time to figure all of that out, but knowing the importance of the education along with the athletic experience Walonis will be receiving speaks volumes of her character.
"Right now, my plan is to study something in business," said Walonis. "I’m thinking finance and then after my undergrad, I’m going to go on to law school."
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram handles @flano0.
