Notre Dame basketball standout Tori Rubel will officially continue her athletic career at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Rubel inked her National Letter of Intent to play for the Skyhawks during a ceremony on Wednesday at Notre Dame Regional High School.

"It kind of feels unreal," Rubel said. "Honestly, whenever I think about it, you sign one piece of paper and it's like, I'm officially a Skyhawk now. It's kind of unreal, but I'm so excited to get get the opportunity to go and play there for the next four years."

Rubel will join her sister Lexi on UT-Martin's roster, admitting the chance to play with her sister again was one of the major reasons she signed with the Skyhawks.

"It is really exciting, and it's also a comfort for my freshman year," Rubel said. "You don't know really anyone — I mean I know some of the other girls, I've met them — but you don't really know what to expect. Having Lexi there, she's someone I can count on and I've always just loved playing with her. I'm really excited to get the chance to do that."

Notre Dame's Tori Rubel puts up a shot against Jackson last season. J.C. Reeves ~ jcreeves@semoball.com, file

In addition to playing with her sister, Rubel credited UT-Martin's coaching staff for continuing to have confidence in her ability to play after suffering a shoulder injury at the end of last season.

"Whenever I was talking to all my coaches at UT-Martin, they told me — because I tore my shoulder — they said that they were confident that they wanted me," Rubel said. "They were like, 'We don't need to see you play anymore,' because I wasn't going to be able to play for another six months. That really helped me.

"Whenever I went and visited, everyone there was just so welcoming and their work ethic is incredible, which is really big, especially if you want to go far."

Rubel will join a Skyhawks team that won Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championships in 2020 and 2021 and has made four appearances in the NCAA Tournament from 2011-2014. She is looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere at Skyhawk Arena.

"They get a lot of fan support," Rubel said. "I know the little community in Martin loves the girls basketball team. Coach (Kevin) McMillen told me that they always have a ton of fans there, which I haven't experienced yet."

Rubel was joined Wednesday on Jerry Grim Court by her friends, family and classmates, which the senior appreciated.

Notre Dame senior Tori Rubel puts up a shot in a game against Saxony Lutheran last season.J.C. Reeves ~ jcreeves@semoball.com, file

"It really means a lot," Rubel said. "If you come to our basketball games, we always have a lot of fan support, especially at the big games which I feel really gives you extra energy if you're tired and stuff. Seeing that translate here and having everyone support me really means a lot. Almost my whole senior class was here which also means a lot, because you know they're behind you and they're rooting for you."

Notre Dame coach Kirk Boeller has coached Rubel for the past three years and said he knew early on she had the makings of a Division I college athlete.

"I knew probably in eighth grade when she came to camp and we were looking eye to eye at six foot," Boeller said. "Coming in as a freshman and immediately impacting a varsity team, there's not a lot of people that can do that. She did her freshman year and it was that season where I'm like, 'We do have something special here.' She's one of those rare talents where you just don't get a kid like that too often, so it was early on when I knew she was destined to do something special."

Boeller praised Rubel's coachability and said when she's in the game it's almost like having a coach out on the court.

"She knows the game," Boeller said. "She knows where to be, she knows where her teammates need to be and to have that on the floor, you can't get any more lucky. There's not much constructive criticism or corrections that she needs because she's usually right, in practice, in games and with her decision-making. There are very few times where we have to get on to her."

While Rubel is looking forward to playing with her older sister at UT-Martin, she's excited for the opportunity to play with her younger sisters Kate and Brie in her final year with the Bulldogs. She will enter the season with 559 points (7.4 per game), 325 rebounds, 125 assists and 114 steals in her career through 75 games.

"I really just don't want to take anything for granted," Rubel said. "Every senior says that, but I really don't, especially since I get to play with my younger twin sisters. I really am looking forward to that. I would also like to get 1,000 points. I'm not sure how it's looking right now but I know I'm going to have to really put in extra hours and really work hard to get to that goal. I just want us to play the best that we can."