At one point during summer 2007, the volume of mail arriving at Bailey Webster's Towson home so overwhelmed the postal carrier that she knocked on the door asking to meet the person getting so much mail.
When the door opened, she met the No. 1 volleyball prospect in the nation, a 6-foot-3 powerhouse of a hitter for St. Paul's.
More than 200 coaches initially recruited her, inundating her with letters and media guides.
"At one point, we were getting 25 to 30 pieces of mail just for her a day, and that doesn't include e-mail," said her mother, Cedrina Webster. "The mail lady said, 'I just had to see who all this mail is for. It's killing my back.' "
Bailey Webster meticulously kept track of every bit of correspondence. Had she not kept that Excel spreadsheet up to date, she might never have found her way through the recruiting maze to the University of Texas. The senior's journey officially ended yesterday when she signed a letter of intent to play for the Longhorns, ranked No. 4 in the nation.
College coaches first caught sight of Webster at the Amateur Athletic Union Junior National Championships in Orlando, Fla., in 2006. With her height, athleticism and soaring vertical leap, she jumped right to the top of many of their recruiting wish lists.
"It was really exciting in the beginning realizing that people wanted you," said Webster, 17. "At times, it was a little too hectic trying to balance school and volleyball and then basketball ... but getting to have relationships with the coaches and some of the players when I was at their schools, it was a fun process. I'm going to miss it a little bit, but I'm glad it's over."
For a long while, Webster couldn't decide between basketball and volleyball, but as more opportunities arose for volleyball, she realized that was where she had the brightest future.
Few high school players can match her net game.
She jumps so high she can touch 10 feet, 8 inches. That's eight inches higher than a basketball rim and plenty high enough to hit over most blocks.
"To be able to touch 10-8 with no weight training ever in her life, that's unmatched," St. Paul's coach Kelli Wilkinson said. "There's maybe one or two volleyball players at the Olympic level who can do that, and here's Bailey, who was doing it as a 16-year-old. With weight training, she could conceivably reach 11 feet, which is ridiculous. No one can do that."
