Students choose to attend junior, or community, colleges for an array of reasons: They are more affordable and closer to home, or people are unsure of what they want to get out of a college education. For student-athletes considering junior college, they also have their own reasons that may be overlooked by those not in a similar situation.
For former Kirkwood athletes Boede Rahe (baseball) and Jenna Twedt (basketball), their stories reflect the path from junior college to Division I.
“Junior college was the best option for me coming out of high school,” said Rahe, a right-handed pitcher at the University of Kansas. “I had a lot of interest from Division II and Division III schools, but none from Division I programs.”
Rahe pitched in 24 games for the Eagles from 2024 to 2025 and, in that span, threw 92.1 innings while compiling a 2.83 ERA. He was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year preseason watch list for the Jayhawks.
“I did have some offers from four-year colleges, but nothing I was too excited about,” said Twedt, a guard at the University of Northern Iowa. “Out of all the offers I had coming out of high school, Kirkwood was definitely the best route in general.”
Twedt shined with the Eagles women’s basketball team. She appeared in 71 games, starting every one, and averaged 15.2 points per game. She has carried that success to the University of Northern Iowa, where she is second on the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game.
Kirkwood has a long history of success in athletics. That history and expectation of excellence help players reach the four-year level while also attracting recruiters from four-year schools.
“They are consistently ranked among the top NJCAA Division II teams and regularly produce Division I talent, which really speaks to the culture they’ve built there,” Rahe said. “It’s rare to find a junior college with a campus the size of Kirkwood; it almost feels like a Division I environment.”
Twedt offered similar praise for Kirkwood.
“The facilities, for being a junior college, are very nice. The coaches are great there,” she said.
For most student-athletes, the goal is to play at the Division I level. When that goal is not immediate, it can be frustrating.
“It’s normal to feel frustrated when you’re not getting the offers or attention you hoped for,” Rahe said. “Becoming a college athlete at any level requires an incredible amount of time, discipline and commitment to the process. Everything happens for a reason.”
Twedt recalled that in high school her mindset was focused on going to a four-year school. However, she now says Kirkwood was “without a doubt, my favorite years of basketball.”
“At the end of the day, junior college gave me the opportunity to develop both as a player and as a person while keeping that Division I goal within reach,” Rahe said.
Categories: Sports
