Lexi Rodriguez was already making waves when she played for Sterling High School. The Illinois native didn’t just shine with her high school team but with the U21 national team as well. She led Team USA to a fifth-place finish at the 2021 U21 World Championships. However, none of these achievements were enough to sway Nebraska coach John Cook.

Coach Cook wanted to recruit a libero in 2021 but didn’t want to consider Rodriguez. As shocking as that may sound now, almost four years ago, the 68-year-old was open to looking for other options.  The Huskers’ coach thought Rodriguez lacked a specific quality he was looking for. “I always thought she was too short,” Cook opened during the pre-final four press conference.

“I didn’t want to recruit her,” the coach added in a clip from the session on X. Thankfully, Huskers assistant coach Kayla Banwarth was there to stop John Cook from passing on Lexi Rodriguez. “My assistant at the time, basically overruled me,” admitted the Huskers head coach. “Kayla’s like, ‘We’re gonna offer her. We gotta offer,’” Cook said about Banwarth’s urgency.

However, as a head coach with over two decades of experience, Cook also argued his points. “I’m like, ‘She’s too small. Well, I want taller liberos. We gotta cover the court,” revealed the BIG10 title-winning coach. However, Banwarth didn’t let up, as she has seen the makings of a great libero and squad leader in Lexi Rodriguez. “She goes, ‘Coach. We are offering!” said John Cook.

“I mean, she’s, like, in my face, pounding on my chest,” confessed the 68-year-old. Seeing the determination of his assistant coach, the Huskers HC decided to trust Banwarth’s gut. “So I did,” said the coach, and then revealed that Lexi Rodriguez herself almost declined. Although the former AVCA Coach of the Year didn’t elaborate on what happened, he revealed how Rodriguez committed.

“Lexi, walked from my office to the elevator, which is about 40 feet; hit the button with her mom. They were getting ready to go down. She stopped, walked back in my office, and committed,” said Coach Cook. Four years down the line, Coach John Cook is thankful for Banwarth insisting on recruiting the Illinois native.

Today, Lexi Rodriguez is standing on the cusp of greatness

The former Sterling High School Libero has grown into one of the best defensive specialists in the NCAA today. While Rodriguez is 5’5, she has no issues covering the whole court, and when she can’t, the senior libero knows what calls to make. While four-time All-American’s college volleyball career will come to an end after 2024, the 21-year-old still has a shot at making history.

Lexi Rodriguez has shined as a libero throughout these four years. Effortlessly making the transition from high school volleyball to the collegiate level, her consistency and leadership qualities have helped Rodriguez make history. Recently, the Husker became the first Libero to ever win AVCA Regional Player of the Year honors. Now, she’s looking to make history once again.

Going into the Final Four game against Penn State at the 2024 NCAA Championships, Rodriguez is playing for more than the national title. With 1,882 career digs, the defensive specialist is just 9 digs short of breaking Justine Wong-Orantes’ 1890 digs record for Nebraska. This is a record Rodriguez may break even if his team loses against Penn State. However, they don’t plan to lose.

“You know, it’s hard to put into words what this senior group means, and what they’ve done,” John Cook said about Lexi Rodriguez and the other seniors. Since the only thing the seniors haven’t done is win a national title, the Huskers are once again gunning for glory after finishing as runners-up last year. Will Rodriguez go down as the greatest Husker libero of all time? Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long to find out.