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Sammie Ruhlman Continues Family Excellence in Basketball; Commits to D’Youville University
When it comes to basketball, the Ruhlman’s have been a familiar name in Warren for several years. For Sammie Ruhlman, a rising senior for the Warren Area Lady Dragons, basketball has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember.
From practices and road trips to halftime talks and in-game huddles, Sammie has been there to watch her Mom, Lisa, coach the Lady Dragons for years. She’s also been around to watch her older sisters Emma and Gracie enjoy their varsity success. But now, it’s Sammie’s turn tor the spotlight.
The Region 5 Player of the Year and D10 All-Star has committed to play for the D’Youville University Saints; an institution that recently joined NCAA Division II and competes in the East Coast Conference. The institution is located in Buffalo, New York. The Saints have had tremendous success in their transition from Division III to Division II as their stop in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) resulted in back-to-back national championships.
“There are a lot of factors that made D’Youville great, but I think the coaching staff and the community are what made it right for me,” noted Ruhlman. “Coach Ali (Bouman) and her assistants have welcomed me with open arms and I can’t wait to be a part of their family. The community is small and everyone supports each other.”
Ruhlman also selected D’Youville because of its strong reputation for healthcare degrees. Past her basketball career, she plans to attend chiropractic school. She may even be able to do so at D’Youville who has an accredited program that is on the rise over the last decade.
The Warren County native heads into her senior season looking to win her second Region 5 and third District 10 titles. These championships are always special because she has the unique opportunity to play for her Mom. “My mom being my coach is something I’m forever thankful for. She did her duties as my coach by sending emails to schools, getting my name out there, and working with me to get better. She also did her duties as a mom by encouraging and believing in me through all of it.”
Uniquely, Sammie was a member of two teams that featured her mother as coach and her older sisters Emma and Gracie as her teammates. “The game of basketball has been one of the biggest parts of my family’s life. Everyone grew up with it one way or another and our love for it has grown as we grow too. It’s something we can all share. It has brought us together with countless drives to tournaments and games and the amount of time and work we put in to make each other better.”
Sammie will join Emma in 2024 at the Division II as the oldest of the Ruhlman sisters is a rising sophomore at Hillsdale College. Each one of the two played on the AAU circuit for the Western PA Bruins; one of the top travel basketball organizations in the entire region and possibly even in the nation. The program has produced countless college players, with Ruhlman being one of the most recent commits from the organization. “The Bruins have brought so much experience and friendships. I started my sophomore year and it has helped me improve my game and got me exposure to college coaches. The friendships I’ve made mean a lot to me and I’m thankful for the girls I got to play alongside.”
So far in her basketball career, her favorite memories include winning two D10 titles alongside her sisters and mom and traveling to Florida to represent the Lady Dragons in out-of-state competition. Lifting D10 gold with her family is something that she will never get sick of and she hopes to add a third district title in her final high school season.
Much of her basketball journey has been working alongside her sister and Mom, but there are also the unsung heroes like her father Jason Ruhlman, her step-dad, Tim LeVan, and her grandparents who traveled many miles to take her to practices and support her at all the games they possibly could. It’s truly taken a village to make these moments in her basketball journey possible. And for that, Sammie Ruhlman will always be grateful and will make the most of the opportunities out on the court for years to come.
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