Hopkins star Maya Nnaji commits to national women's hoops runner-up Arizona

Arizona is keeping it all in the family after Hopkins junior Maya Nnaji, among the top-recruited girls' basketball players in Minnesota, gave a verbal commitment to play for the Wildcats on Monday.

Nnaji is a 6-4 forward who is ranked as the No. 7 recruit in the nation for the Class of 2022, according to ESPN. She led the Royals by averaging 20.4 points during the 2021 season. Hopkins saw their state-record-tying 78-game winning streak come to an end when Chaska topped them 67-62 in the Class 4A semifinals of the state tournament in April.

Maya's older brother, Zeke Nnaji, played at Arizona for one season before he was drafted by the Denver Nuggets last year.

She shared her commitment on Instagram with a video detailing her growth as a player, helped in part by battling against her brother.

The Wildcats just finished a tremendous season, finishing 21-6 and reaching the NCAA Championship game after defeating Paige Bueckers and Hopkins in the Final Four.

Arizona fell 54-53 to Stanford in the championship.

Nnaji and Bueckers played together on Hopkins from the 2016-2017 season to the 2019-2020 season, when Bueckers graduated.

So while Nnaji is joining the team that ousted her from a potential perfect freshman season, Bueckers had a touching post on Twitter over Nnaji's commitment.

And while this will be the second member of the Nnaji family to join Arizona, the school already has their eye on the next generation, as the Wildcats have offered Josie Nnaji, an eighth grader for Hopkins, a scholarship for the Class of 2025.