It was the summer of 2016. Lauren Van Kleunen just graduated from Mason High School. The Mason, Ohio, native made the roughly six-hour journey to Milwaukee to begin acclimating to the start of her college basketball career.
However, as the summer progressed, Van Kleunen’s path took an untraditional turn.
A health issue forced her to redshirt her first year.
“I was diagnosed with blood clots in both my lungs going into my freshman summer here, it was a big change,” Van Kleunen said. “I was trying to come back and I think it was a little bit of my competitiveness wanting to come back but I knew I wasn’t ready to play.