MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (KCRG) – “To win a state title, it’s just everything came together at the end. It’s always a dream, and we’ll come back when we’re older, see (the trophy) in there, and we’ll always have all the memories.”
Stacy Frese Huber wrapped up her hall-of-fame career at Cedar Rapids Washington High School in 1995 with a state championship.
She’d go on to have an All-American career with Iowa State, before playing with the WNBA’s Utah Starzz.
“Those are the things that you carry along,” Frese Huber said. “I mean, they are still my best friends. We stay in touch., we go on trips, lifelong memories and relationships that were built through the years just playing basketball.”
30 years later, she reminisces with her superstar daughter, Sydney Huber.
Stacy has coached Sydney’s AAU team since 4th grade.
“(It’s) something to look forward to every night, going to practices together, getting to be coached by her, and see all my friends,” Sydney, a two-time all-state basketball selection at Mount Vernon, said.
How do they balance the mother-daughter relationship with the coach-player relationship?
“We definitely had our moments, but she always handled it,” Stacy said. “There were definitely moments when we were in the gym and I said ‘I’m your coach right now,’ so just separating the two.”
“Like, ‘I’m trying to push you, I’m trying to help you get better,’ and then once we leave it’s done.”
In 2025, 30 years after Stacy’s state championship as a senior, Sydney earned not one, but two titles.
In basketball, Sydney scored 24 of Mount Vernon’s 47 points in a state title game win over Dubuque Wahlert.
“It doesn’t even feel real, but it’s just so great,” Sydney said back in March. “We worked all season for this, and just to finally be here, it’s amazing.”
Before that, Mount Vernon brought home a state volleyball championship. Sydney led the state in assists with 1,292.
“From seventh grade on, she went from basketball practice to volleyball practice every day of the week,” said Stacy. “Thankfully she had amazing teammates, amazing families, because you grow up together.”
Sydney isn’t following her mother’s path to Ames. She says she’s confident she can get on the court early in her career, playing college ball at Evansville.
“I think it will be hard at first, just learning how to do stuff on my own and not have people to come home to,” she said. “I’ll miss it a lot.”
Stacy will still see plenty of her daughter when they visit Evansville, and when the Purple Aces visit conference rival Northern Iowa.
The former collegiate All-American says her daughter is ready.
“You know, I rebound a lot for her. I have loved every minute of it, but it’s a lot and I mean, man, I feel like I’m gonna have hours of my life back!” Stacy said.
“It’s a ton of hours. I would never change it for anything, but she’s ready. As a parent, you do your best to raise them as well as you can, and to prepare them. She’s ready.”
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