California (and Cal), here she comes

Hannah Beauford didn’t have her eyes necessarily set on Cal when the recruiting process began.

She did, however, have her heart set on California – the state.

“I didn’t want somewhere super cold. I get sick,” the junior Prosper (Texas)High School setter/hitter said. “Cal has amazing weather and academics and high standards. It checked off a lot ofboxes of what I wanted location and program wise.

“I always did say I wanted to be in California and now thinking about it, it came full circle.”

Beauford joins libero Francesca Popescu, of Lambert High School in Georgia, as part of the 2025 commitments for the PAC-12 Conference squad.

This year for her 24-7 Prosper Eagles, Beauford has at times been a one-person highlight film. The 5-11 junior is averaging nearly six assists per set in the team’s 5-1 formation. She has nearly 200 kills,averaging 2.2 per set on a 38.4% kill rate. Cal is clearly excited about her ball-handling skills, where she has just 15 errors in more than 1,200 attempts –a 98.8% success ratio.

“They basically said I could be a great 5-1 setter for their program,” Beauford said.

Beauford went into the recruiting process looking for opportunities. She didn’t have one certain school or even a “short list” that she wanted to focus on. She said that actually made it easier for her.

“Throughout the whole recruiting process, I never exactly knew what I wanted and that part made it harder for me in a way,” she said. “But, I feel like it’s even harder for people who have their eyes set on one place and don’t necessarily get what they want. Maybe me not knowing where I wanted to go helped me in the process to see what I might like.

“Cal wasn’t always in the picture, it was an opportunity I came upon.”

However, from the first contact with Cal coaches via a phone call, the school went from not being in the picture, to be the entire picture.

“I told my mom after my first phone call with the coaches that it was one of the best conversations I had,” said Beauford, who enjoys baking big cakes, being in the kitchen and cheering on her siblings when they’recompeting athletically. “I felt like we were the same type of people, that I was understood by them.”

Things only got better after her official visit, meeting coaches, players and other possible commits.

“It was automatic after I first met them – these people are great people,” Beauford said. “I felt likw I qA a part of it and knew then who I would be playing with. They made me feel at peace in my decision.”

Beauford said she’s not sure what she will major in, having interests in many paths including psychology, criminally related areas and, of course, athletics.

“I have sparks of interest in a lot of different categories,” she said.

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