Platteville — Head coach Kelly McNiff and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville women’s basketball team proudly announce the addition of 11 student-athletes to the program, including 2020 Black Hawk alum Hannah Butler. This is McNiff’s first recruiting class as she enters her second season at UW-Platteville after being named head coach in August of 2019. 

“Once our staff was hired last August, we made it our goal to bring in student-athletes that will make us a deeper, more competitive basketball program,” McNiff said. “Now looking at how this first recruiting class has shaped up, I am really proud of my staff and excited about the players we have joining the UW-Platteville community. I love the mix of strength, athleticism, and versatility included in this group. I believe we have brought in a class of young women who work just as hard in the classroom as on the basketball court. As a staff, we are working to build something extremely special with the UW-Platteville program and I am grateful these players want to be part of that.”

McNiff and the Pioneers are coming off a season where they defeated two top 25 teams and earned a top 25 ranking for the first time in school history.

Butler was the 2019-20 conference player of the year. She was a two-time All-State selection and four-time first team All-Conference selection. Averaged 18.7 points her senior year and scored 1,582 career points, along with 666 career rebounds and 370 steals. 

“My older sister graduated from UW-Platteville and encouraged me to go,” Butler said. “It was important to me to find a good opportunity that was close to home.” 

Coach McNiff on Butler: “When you are trying to develop a winning attitude, it helps to have players who’ve been there before. Hannah is bringing more than her basketball skills to our program. Hannah comes from an extremely well coached, successful program. She knows what it takes to win.”

Black Hawk High School head coach Mike Flanagan on Butler: “Hannah is a very talented player who can attack and score effectively with either hand. She has great body control and court vision and is difficult to defend because of her ability to finish at the rim and to knock down perimeter shots. Most importantly, she is a great teammate who plays selflessly and prioritizes her team’s goal over her own.”