Shortly after Purdue walked off the court at Mackey Arena following its 55-52 exhibition win over UIC on Saturday, coach Katie Gearlds and her staff received some big news. The Boilermakers landed a commitment from heavily recruited 2027 guard Ava Womack.
A 5-foot-10 guard out of Lancaster, Texas, announced her decision on Saturday, posting to her Instagram account. She simply wrote, "Y'all kept asking, so I delivered," along with a photo of her in a Purdue uniform.
Womack is an explosive guard who can score in one-on-one situations. She's confident with the basketball in her hands and can both drive to the basket and knock down shots from the perimeter. She's also active on the defensive end, creating steals to get out in transition and score quickly.
Purdue's staff likes having guards who can score in one-on-one situations and are comfortable pushing the tempo. Womack fits those qualifications and will be an asset at the guard position for the program moving forward.
She is also the first player in the 2027 recruiting class to commit to play for the Boilermakers.
Womack spent her sophomore season at DeSoto High School, where she averaged 22 points per game. She transferred to Lancaster High School last year and finished the 2025-26 campaign averaging 9.7 points per contest.
Several schools were interested in Womack, as she held offers from Auburn, Texas A&M, Houston, SMU, Jacksonville and others.
Purdue edges out UIC in exhibition
Womack's announcement came after Purdue concluded its lone exhibition game of the 2026-27 season. The Boilermakers escaped with a 55-52 victory over UIC, improving to 6-0 in exhibition games under Gearlds.
Guard Hannah Wickstrom led the way with 20 points for the Boilermakers and Kyndall Hunter added 16. They were the only two players to reach double figures in the contest. Sophomore Avery Gordon ended the night with a team-high eight rebounds.
After the game, Gearlds said there's a "laundry list" of things her squad needs to work on before the team's season opener against IU Indy on Monday, Nov. 2.
"At the top of the list … composure in a storm," Gearlds said after the game. "I thought our offense was going to be a lot better than what it was. I did not know that our defense would only give up 52 points. Now, granted, they missed some open shots, they missed a lot of free throws. I thought we were a little further along offensively than what we showed today.
"I thought the turnovers, the missed shots, kinda rattled us. Then we started to press a little bit and try to do something, make a play for the team. But let's execute; let's get the look that we're trying to get."
Purdue's first game against IU Indy is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 2. The game will air on Big Ten-Plus.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/purdue as Heavily-Recruited 2027 Guard Ava Womack Commits to Purdue.