Ruthy Hebard — a 6-foot-4 power forward from Fairbanks, Alaska — gave the Oregon women’s basketball program a verbal commitment on Tuesday, becoming the sixth recruit to join the 2016 class.
She posted her announcement via Twitter on Tuesday afternoon:

Officially a Duck 😈💛🐥 pic.twitter.com/dLaZ0wbJWf

— Ruthy Hebard (@RuthyHebard24) August 4, 2015

Hebard, ranked No. 54 in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz and No. 39 overall by ProspectsNation.com, is a two-time Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year. She averaged 24.5 points and 13.9 rebounds along with 3.0 steals and 2.0 blocks last season for West Valley High.
“Coach Mark [Campbell] and Coach [Kelly] Graves recruited me perfectly, called at the right times and when they came up here, I was so happy to see them,” Hebard said. “The facilities are nice and I believe Coach Graves will make us a winning team soon.”
“It’s the perfect fit for me there.”
Hebard said at the beginning she had interest from 80 schools, but ultimately selected the Ducks over Oregon State, Louisville, Washington, Arizona State and North Carolina.
Her commitment by phone on Tuesday shocked the entire coaching staff, who was on speakerphone in the Oregon athletic department office.
“He [Graves] was like, ‘Say it again.’ I heard lots of people screaming in the background,” Hebard said. “It was awesome because I really wanted to surprise them.”
Coming from Fairbanks, Alaska — a seven and a half hour-drive from Anchorage — Hebard said she’s glad the 2016 class currently totals six freshmen, which she said will help smoothen her transition to college ball.
“All the little kids in town idolize her,” West Valley High head coach Jessie Craig said. “They want to be just like her. Everybody is so excited: ‘What’s Ruthy doing?’”
Hebard said she’s already received an outpouring of support from her friends and family, some even looking forward to buying game tickets. She has family that lives in the Portland area and made an unofficial visit to Oregon’s campus at the end of June.
“These new coaches are recruiting who they want to recruit,” Hebard said. “The girls that I’ve seem; it’s going to be awesome. I think we’re going to turn the program around and be a winning program really soon.”
Craig said assistant coach Mark Campbell was one of the first to visit and got to know Hebard well during her recruitment, earning her trust along with Graves and assistant Nicole Powell.
“She’s one of those players that, if she loves you, she will put everything she has on the line for you,” Craig said.
Hebard joins the class of 2016 commits, which features 6-foot-1 guard Jayde Woods (Yorba Linda, CA), 6-3 forward Sierra Campisano (San Diego, CA), 6-4 post Mallory McGwire (Reno, Nevada), 5-9 guard Morgan Yaeger (Forestville, Australia) and 6-5 center Lydia Giomi (Seattle, WA). The class was ranked fourth nationally by ProspectsNation.com in June.
Hebard will become the fifth Alaskan to play Pac-12 women’s basketball.
“It means the world to be a Duck,” Hebard said, “I’m so happy they recruited me because if they hadn’t, I feel like I wouldn’t have found the perfect fit.”
Follow Jonathan Hawthorne on Twitter @Jon_Hawthorne