Havre High's Wagner heading to Carroll College for basketball

Coming into the new school year, there was no doubt that Havre High standout Dani Wagner was going to play college basketball, the only question was where.

But, now, that question has been answered as Wagner recently committed to play basketball at Carroll College next season.

“It’s great,” Wagner said. “It feels good to have that off my back now so I can focus on the rest of my high school sports and stuff, but it’s nice to know that I am going to be going to a school that I have kind of grown up with my whole life.”

As the Fighting Saints can attest to, Wagner is one heck of a basketball player — but she is also an outstanding all-around athlete. During her time at HHS, she has earned Class A All-State honors in three sports — volleyball (twice), softball and basketball, which makes her one of the few in school history to achieve such a feat.

The senior has been a varsity basketball player for the Ponies since her sophomore year and was a consistent contributor on Havre’s 2014 state championship team. But in terms of recruiting interest, that came following Wagner’s breakout junior season. She also received interest from Montana State University-Northern, UM-Western, Rocky Mountain College and the University of Great Falls.

“It kind of came down to Carroll and Northern,” Wagner said. “And gosh, coach (Chris) Mouat (Northern) is a really nice guy and it was very hard to tell him no, but I am glad that I made the choice that I did.”

During the 2014-15 campaign, Wagner not only developed into a key playmaker for the Ponies, she became one of the best forwards in the state. During the regular season, she averaged 12.4 points per game along with 7.2 rebounds. She also averaged three assists and two steals per game the Ponies reach the Class A semifinals.

Carroll, which is 11-1 on the season, has a solid Women’s basketball program, which was attractive to Wagner, but the fact that her brother Gary Wagner, another Havre High graduate, played football for the Saints and quarterbacked them to a national championship, didn’t hurt. Older brother Billy also played football for the Saints.

“They just have a great tradition there,” Wagner said. “They have some great fans and they have a great tradition of working hard in school and on the court, so that’s nice to have. I have always kind of known the players around there and they are a lot of fun.”

The other thing that led to Wagner attending Carroll were her academic aspirations. The three-sport athlete may star on the field, but she also excels in the classroom and plans to pursue a degree in business accounting or secondary education. She currently boasts a GPA of 3.9.

“When I went and took a tour of their campus, their class sizes were pretty small,” Wagner said. “And that was something that I really liked.”

Wagner said that she is excited to have this decision behind her, but she is also looking forward to the challenge of playing in the Frontier Conference next season.

“It’s going to be different,” Wagner said. “It’s going to be a challenge playing against girls that are on your same level and even better than you. You are going to have to fight for your spot, but that’s what I want. I want to get physically and mentally tougher.”