NORMAN — That Payton Verhulst is looking forward to her return trip to Louisville shows just how far she’s come in the last two seasons.
When Verhulst transferred to OU midway through the 2022-23 season, it was a major surprise.
Verhulst was a five-star prospect coming out of Bishop Miege High in Roeland Park, Kansas, and figured to be a breakout candidate that season after averaging 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds as a freshman.
But eight games into her sophomore season, Verhulst wasn’t sure what her basketball future looked like but she didn’t see it continuing at Louisville.
Verhulst was struggling with mental health issues but wanted to continue her basketball career.
The move to OU didn’t magically fix things but it did send Verhulst down the path to improvement.
Now, about two years after Verhulst transferred to OU, she’s looking like the star she was expected to be out of high school.
The 11th-ranked Sooners will wrap up a five-game road trip when they take on No. 22 Louisville at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the KFC Yum! Center.
“Coming to Oklahoma, it changed my life, truly,” Verhulst said. “The opportunity that (OU coach) Jennie (Baranczyk) gave me to come play here and then also be able to address those mental health issues and get the help I needed was really important for me.
“I think that’s put me in the place now where, if you would’ve asked me when I got here two years ago, I would’ve been like, ‘I don’t think I can do it. I don’t think I could go back there.’ Now I’m in the place where I’m excited. There’s no bad blood.”
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Verhulst is averaging 13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.
In the Sooners’ last game, a 109-99 overtime loss to Duke on Nov. 27, Verhulst had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. She became the first OU player to record a triple-double since Courtney Paris in 2006.
It was just the fourth triple-double in program history.
Verhulst was named an SEC Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday.
“I’m so happy,” Verhulst said of facing the Cardinals. “Who doesn’t want to see a great women’s basketball game? Women’s basketball’s really gotten a spotlight and any game we have we’re so excited and obviously I’m familiar with the Yum! Center so that’s great too. Maybe I’ll shoot good there.”
Verhulst said she’s been buoyed by some Louisville fans reaching out to her on social media since the game was announced.
“I had a lot of really close friends there that came to the games all the time,” Verhulst said. “I’m just excited to be able to rekindle those relationships. As much as you can keep in touch over the phone, it’s just not the same as being able to see them in person.”
More: OU AD Joe Castiglione says former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson will be adviser for Sooners
OU vs. Louisville
TIPOFF: 4 p.m. Wednesday at KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky (ESPN2)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women’s basketball G Payton Verhulst embracing return to Louisville
