The best two weeks of Carrie Baird’s life just got better.

The Cherry Creek outside hitter committed Saturday to play for the University of San Diego, the 17th-ranked team in the nation. That wrapped up a long and frustrating recruiting process.

Two weeks ago, the 6-foot-1 senior, had led the Bruins to a 31-0 record and the Class 5A state volleyball championship. She went on a recruiting trip last week to San Diego and was offered the scholarship soon after arriving. She committed the next day, after the Toreros defeated Santa Clara.

Baird also considered George Washington, Texas A&M, Illinois, Central Florida and Michigan, but ended up being a rather late recruit, as most top players already had committed and signed with their chosen schools. Two of her high school teammates, Gabi Dewberry (Fullerton State) and Sam Peters (Santa Clara) already had their scholarships assured.

Baird suffered a third-degree sprain of her left ankle last season, just before the state tournament. That had a profound effect on her college future.

Baird took off three months to rehabilitate the ankle and then got back to playing just before the biggest recruiting tournament of her club season, Colorado Crossroads.

“There are a lot of coaches there and it was my second week back,” she said. “I didn’t play that well. I fell off the radar, I think. I was talking to a lot of schools before I got hurt. As soon as I got hurt, I dropped off their list or was second or third.”

Baird found that some schools recruiting her really didn’t have a scholarship available or had prioritized other players, so she needed to rethink her options. She had been caught up thinking too much about going to the West Coast, but then wrote a few schools that she had put off, telling those coaches she had made mistakes.

“I kind of realized I was setting my priorities wrong and I needed to focus more on academics, not on the location,” Baird said. “I turned down so many schools because of where they were located, and it was such a stupid thing on my part. You first go about it and you realize you’re so naive about recruiting. It’s easy to get caught up in all the glory with the ranked teams.”

The ironic thing about Baird’s commitment is that she still ended up signing with a ranked team in a beautiful California location. She is thinking of majoring in international business.

The Toreros, coached by Jennifer Petrie, were worried about Baird’s injury, but saw some video of Baird’s performances this season. Baird was dominant in most of the Bruins matches and registered 15 kills in the championship final. That improvement clinched the deal for the Toreros.

Baird arrived on campus Friday, and received the scholarship offer that day. She thought it over and called her club coach, Jim Miret of Front Range, and accepted it Saturday.

“It was probably the only easy part about this whole process,” Baird said. “It fells like I am (a late commitment), but I’m kind of glad I did it this way. Now, I really know more about myself and made the right decision.”