Cornell’s Cooper Kabela thankful for rewarding 5th season that reaches NCAA tournament

MOUNT VERNON — During Cooper Kabela’s senior season at West Branch, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to go to a big school or explore one of the smaller NCAA Division III options offering him a chance to extend his basketball career into college.

“When we had some success, I didn’t want to be done,” Kabela said. “I wanted to keep playing, so I chose Cornell.”

Cornell is just 31 miles from the Kabela family home, where his parents, Steve and Darcy, raised Cooper, older brothers Jake and Kyle, and sister Kacie, who’s the eldest.

“It reminded me a lot of West Branch and it felt like a good atmosphere,” said Cooper, who grew up joking that he had five parents. “I felt welcomed here and being able to go home and help on the family farm when needed, too.”

After choosing Cornell and settling on computer sciences for a major, Kabela found himself playing 7 to 8 minutes per game as a freshman for a Rams team that finished 12-13 overall and 7-11 in the Midwest Conference.

The following season, 2018-19, Kabela found the starting lineup and hasn’t left since.

“I got a lot of opportunities because we weren’t the strongest team my sophomore year,” Kabela said of Cornell’s 6-19 team that season.

Not only did Kabela start to secure his spot on the team during his sophomore season, he found a new passion in the classroom.

“I changed to business analytics and I really enjoy that,” Kabela said. “It sounds nerdy, but I like looking at a spreadsheet and figuring out the story.”

Settled into the college experience by his junior season, Kabela and his teammates finished with a 14-12 overall mark, including a 9-9 record in MWC play.

But then came Kabela’s “senior season,” when Cornell played just nine games in a pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign and left the court with a 3-6 record.

“I’ve been playing basketball for my whole life and I didn’t get the closure I wanted,” Kabela said. “I went to my family and got the OK from them.”

Kabela’s family approval to play his “super senior” season, officially as of last summer, also includes his wife Emmy, who works in Iowa City after graduating from Iowa.

“It’s a little different from some college athletes that are on campus and eating at the dining hall,” Kabela said. “I’m going home and making dinner.”

Last weekend, Kabela helped Cornell (19-8) secure the Midwest Conference title it had dreamed about with a 72-69 double-overtime victory over Ripon (Wis.), which qualified the Rams for the NCAA D-III tournament.

“We definitely were jumping around the locker room,” Kabela said. “It didn’t sink in for a day or two.”

Friday at 5:50 p.m. in St. Louis, Cornell faces Washington University (18-7), with a carload of Kabelas expected to attend.

“Coming to Cornell has been one of the best decisions of my life,” said Kabela when asked if he’s enjoying life. “It’s definitely been a very rewarding year for me.”

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