Kamy Peppler went home to visit family on Easter weekend, and by the time it was over, the former Hortonville basketball star decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal.
After spending her first three collegiate seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, it didn’t take long for the 5-foot-7 point guard to decide to spend her final year playing for in-state rival UWGB.
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She entered the portal April 21. UWGB announced her signing April 24.
The Phoenix continued a prolific offseason by announcing the addition of Peppler’s younger sister, 6-foot guard Kallie Peppler, on the same day after she spent her freshman season with the Panthers.
For anybody wondering how the Phoenix would replace seven seniors from a team that went to the NCAA Tournament this season, they have gotten their answer over and over again.
UWGB has added four key seniors in Kamy Peppler, former South Dakota and Green Bay Preble forward Carley Duffney, former Oakland star guard Maddy Skorupski and former Iowa State and Appleton East guard Lily Hansford.
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It also has signed players with multiple years of eligibility in former Wisconsin forward and Green Bay Notre Dame star Gracie Grzesk and Kallie Peppler, both of whom have three seasons remaining.
“I realized I have got to do what is best for me in this situation,” said Kamy, who will be a graduate transfer after earning her college degree in May. “I only have one year left, so I think that talk with my family is what really helped me make my decision.”
Kamy wanted to stay close to home, so it narrowed down her options quite a bit. She started the process with an open mind and spoke to several schools, but UWGB was one of the first to reach out.
After speaking to UWGB coach Kayla Karius, she felt playing for the Phoenix would be an excellent opportunity. She also talked to her former high school coach, Celeste Ratka (Hoewisch), about the UWGB program.
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Ratka and Karius were teammates at UWGB and were the Horizon League co-players of the year as seniors in 2011 when they led the team to its only Sweet 16 appearance.
“I respect her a lot, and she is still one of my favorite people to this day,” Kamy said about Ratka. “Definitely talking to her throughout my recruiting process was a big thing for me. Obviously, she has a good relationship with Coach Kayla. Getting her insight was definitely important.”
Kamy ranked second in the 11-team Horizon this season in assists (4.7 apg), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3), 13th in steals (1.4 spg), 14th in minutes (30.6 mpg) and 25th in scoring (9.3 ppg).
UWGB recruit Kamy Peppler (23) was one of the best high school players in the state during her career at Hortonville.
She scored in double figures 12 times and had a season-high 26 points against IU Indy in February.
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Kamy was a key contributor for the Panthers since her rookie season — she was named to the league’s all-freshman team — and started 73 of 94 career games. She averaged a career-high 11.5 points as a sophomore.
“We are thrilled to welcome such a seasoned point guard to Titletown,” Karius said in a statement released by UWGB. “Kamy is a proven scorer and passer in the Horizon League and possesses the grit and toughness of a Green Bay women’s basketball player.
“We look forward to adding a veteran leader to our squad and watching her make an immediate impact.”
Kamy had a decorated prep career at Hortonville, developing into one of the best players in the state by the time she graduated.
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She was named Ms. Basketball as a senior in 2022 after averaging 13.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.3 steals for a Polar Bears team that went 24-2 and won the Fox Valley Association title.
Kamy finished with 1,201 career points, 475 assists and 304 steals.
Along with a scholarship offer from UWM, she also had one from North Dakota.
Although UWGB did not offer while she was in high school, she had a few conversations with longtime Phoenix assistant Sarah Bronk during the recruiting process.
Kamy has played against UWGB enough times the past few years to know what kind of program she is joining.
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“Green Bay has been at the top of the league for quite some time, so it’s kind of hard not to,” Kamy said. “They get a lot of fans, which is really, really cool to play in that kind of atmosphere. I played in it three times, and now I get to play in it many more, which is going to be fun.
“They have that winning culture. That was a big thing for me.”
Although Kamy is close with her younger sister, she wanted to stay out of her brief recruitment after Kallie entered the portal the same week as Kamy.
But when UWGB offered both?
“It’s kind of hard to pass up playing with your sister again,” Kamy said.
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The Peppler sisters will be the second set of siblings on the roster next season, joining the former Lakeland Union duo of sophomore guard Julianna Ouimette and freshman guard-forward Kristina Ouimette.
There have been other notable sister tandems at UWGB the past decade, including Megan and Kaili Lukan and Madison and Mackenzie Wolf.
“I think it’s going to be super fun, it’s going to be a really cool experience,” Kamy said about joining Kallie at UWGB. “Being in a new place and a little closer to home, so having the opportunity for more people from your hometown to be there and see us playing together again. Especially since we did it in Hortonville, and then having those fans come, it’s going to be really fun.”
UWGB recruit Kallie Peppler (22) had several NCAA Division I offers at Hortonville, spending her first collegiate season with UW-Milwaukee before entering the transfer portal and signing with the Phoenix.
Kallie Peppler has bright future at UWGB
Kallie had her own notable career at Hortonville, playing all four seasons on varsity. She scored 892 career points and was a three-time all-conference selection in the FVA, overcoming a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a knee that wiped out the second half of her junior season and the first few games of her senior year.
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She had several DI offers before joining her sister in Milwaukee. It included UWGB, along with Cleveland State, DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Indiana State, Providence and Toledo.
“We are excited to add another Peppler sister to our roster,” Karius said. “Kallie is an athletic guard who uses her length well and moves well away from the ball. As an incoming sophomore, she gives us youth and depth in the wing position.”
Kallie played 32 games for UWM this season, averaging 3.1 points and 1.3 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game.
She scored a career-high 12 points in a career-high 25 minutes at Oakland in February.
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“I chose Green Bay because of the great coaching staff along with the winning culture,” Kallie said. “Not only that, but Green Bay has always had a great community following them and we can’t wait to bring the Hortonville crowd to Green Bay.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Hortonville’s Kamy, Kallie Peppler are latest to transfer to UWGB
