LINCOLN – A mid-June showcase in Columbia, Missouri, changed the trajectory of MaryAnn Kenyon’s basketball career.

The 6-foot-3 forward — who can shoot from the wing or post up in the paint — had offers from mid-major schools. And she’d gone far enough down the recruiting journey that she had her three favorites — Eastern Michigan, Marshall and Belmont.

Until Kenyon went with her Chesterton (Mo.) Marquette High School teammates to the Midwest Showcase put on by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. The event features teams from all over the Midwest — including Nebraska. There, Kenyon, who averaged 22.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 2.1 blocks last season, caught the eye of NU coach Amy Williams and assistant Jessica Keller.

Nebraska reached out. At first, Kenyon said Tuesday — the same day she posted her commitment to NU — the Huskers’ interest was a “shock.”

Williams and Keller had more than interest. They extended a scholarship offer by August. Fewer than two weeks later, she said yes.

“The coaching staff was amazing, the players were great, the campus was what I was looking for,” Kenyon said. “There was nothing I didn’t like. It was what I was looking for.”

What did Nebraska see in her?

“They like that I’m a versatile player and how I see the floor,” Kenyon said. “My vision’s really good and I pass people open, always making the extra pass.”

She’s decidedly under the radar. The last time NU went into St. Louis for a recruit, it landed Natalie Potts, whose final choices came down to NU and Gonzaga. Potts was Big Ten freshman of the year in 2024 before missing most of the last two seasons to injury.

Kenyon remembers Potts at Incarnate Word High School but never played against her. Too many years apart. But her game has some similarities to Potts’ skillset.

“She’ll completely fit into any role you need her to be,” Marquette coach Tim Bowdern said. “She’s 6-foot-3, she can rebound, she can guard positions two through five. She’ll be a good asset.

“Whatever they need her to be, she’ll be that kid, and she’ll do it exceptionally well.”

Kenyon was a shooting wing as a sophomore at Marquette, which is in Missouri Class 6A. As a junior she played power forward. She’ll probably do that again as a senior. On her AAU team, Napheesa Collier Elite out of St. Louis, she plays point guard on a team full of scorers.

“She’s probably been the most unselfish player I’ve ever had,” Bowdern said. And one of his best. Bowdern said he was “very surprised” that power schools had not come calling after Kenyon before Nebraska did.

By the time NU offered Kenyon, she’d narrowed her list down to four. NU, a perennial NCAA tournament team, stood out.

“I think I can compete with other players out there,” she said. “I want to challenge myself every day and I think Nebraska will give me the best opportunity to do that.”

NU has three commits for the 2027 class — Kenyon, Papillion-La Vista South center Addison Medeck and Sioux Falls (S.D.) Jefferson guard Brinley Altenburg.