Katie Lybbert has made up her mind on where to go to college. The Selwyn diver signed with LSU on Friday, after she initially committed to Arkansas.

Katie Lybbert

“It’s good to finally know,” Lybbert said. “I have been teetering back and forth between several schools.”

Lybbert is a two-time TAPPS 1-meter state champion, and she twice finished runner-up. She has enjoyed a successful career in various club competitions, and she placed fifth in the 3-meter category at the recent USA Diving Spring Junior West Championships.

Lybbert was verbally committed to Arkansas, but she changed her mind after Arkansas fired diving coach Scott Reich in early March and announced that interim coach Dale Schultz would take over the job.

“I don’t like their [Arkansas’] interim coach,” Lybbert said. “I love the head coach at LSU.”

After meeting LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer at nationals, Lybbert went on a recruiting trip to Baton Rouge on May 3. Shaffer showed Lybbert around the LSU campus and toured the facilities.

“He really knew what he was talking about,” Lybbert said. “I liked the way he formed his practices. He had really everything you needed.”

Shaffer was selected the SEC Female Diving Coach of the Year this season after LSU won two individual championships. He is in his sixth season as LSU’s diving coach.

Along with LSU and Arkansas, Lybbert was considering Nebraska, Kansas, New Orleans, New Mexico and SMU.

Lybbert said another reason why she picked LSU was because of the success of its football program, which won the BCS national championship this season.

“I liked that, because their football team and everything is going so well, and everything is going so well, and they get a lot of money from that, it provides a lot of support toward other sports,” Lybbert said.

Lybbert will compete in the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform dives at LSU. In high school she only competed in the 1-meter, which is the only diving event TAPPS sponsors. She competed in the other dives in club events.

As a freshman at Selwyn, Lybbert won the TAPPS Division 3 state title, and she added another title last year as a junior. She placed second this year.

Lybbert qualified for the USA Diving nationals by placing third in the 3-meter and fourth in the 1-meter at the Region 8 Champ-ionships earlier this year. She captured fifth in nationals in late April.

Selwyn athletic director Shane Sykes said he is proud of Lybbert’s accomplishments, along with her decision to sign with LSU.

“I think it’s great, just to have a Division I athlete coming from your school is awesome,” Sykes said. “Being able to coach Katie since she was five years old in sports other than diving, I knew she was going to do something, but I never thought it would be diving, because she was a gymnast when she was younger, but all that evolved into the diving.”

Sykes also believes Lybbert will enjoy a successful career in the college ranks.

“I think once she gets in there, she’ll do fine,” Sykes said. “That whole freshman year is a make-or-break for any athlete. If her work ethic continues to be like it is, I think she is going to do great.”

BRAD McDONNELL can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is bmcdonnell@dentonrc.com .