Nikki Tom still has another year of girls basketball left at Clovis West, but the talented junior has already made a decision on life beyond high school.
The Clovis West girls basketball star announced her commitment to UC Irvine via Twitter late Saturday afternoon. Tom considered five other California colleges – UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, San Jose State, CSU Fullerton, and Pacific – before choosing UC Irvine due to its “family culture.”
“Coach Tamara Inoue and her staff believed in me early on as a sophomore, and they have been wonderful to build relationships with,” Tom said. “UCI just felt like home to me and I couldn’t imagine myself at any other place.”
It was not only the close dynamic with UC Irvine’s coaches that sold Tom on committing there, but also the college’s strong academic reputation: UC Irvine was ranked No. 9 among public universities nationwide by the U.S News and World Report in 2019.
“A big thing for me was the education aspect, and UCI fulfilled every academic goal that I want to achieve,” Tom noted.
Clovis West girls basketball head coach Craig Campbell says the junior “prepared for this moment for the past three years.”
“She found a great fit at UC Irvine,” Campbell said. “Finding a great culture with outstanding academics was a priority, and Nikki will have a great career there.”
Tom will be yet another Clovis West player to compete at the collegiate level under Campbell. The 15-year head coach of the Golden Eagles has sent 20 former players to Division-I college women’s basketball, and 11 more to the Division-II and NAIA level.
Tom continues the tradition after having a spectacular junior campaign in 2019-20, where she was named TRAC girls basketball MVP by the league’s coaches. The 5-foot-9 guard guided Clovis West to its first ever Open Division championship, while leading the team with 15.4 PPG and 77 3-pointers.
Now with her mind made up on college, Tom looks to win her fourth section title in four years for Clovis West next season.
“Making my decision early brings me great joy,” Tom said, “because now I can just focus on my last season with West and hopefully win another ring.”