Recruiting elite-level athletes is never far from a college coach’s mind. But sometimes, the best talent can be found right in one’s backyard.

The Iowa soccer team has players from 13 states and one foreign country. However, head coach Ron Rainey didn’t need to travel far to land three of the Hawkeyes’ prized freshmen, who all come from the same state: Iowa.

Not only that, all three played for the same high school.

Defender Jade Grimm, midfielder Katherine Lewis, and goalkeeper Rachel Spellerberg led Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School to three-straight conference championships (2006-08) before joining the Iowa program this fall.

“It’s a lot of fun just because I already know them, and I loved playing with them in the past,” Grimm said. “We just made our own personal decisions, and it just ended up being here at Iowa.”

The trio, which also played in the Cedar River Soccer Association together, is still adjusting to living in a new city and being college student-athletes. But the three agreed that having each other around has eased the transition.

“We’re all really close and have been really good friends since we were little,” Spellerberg said. “It’s good to have someone always there to support you and hang out with on and off the field. They’re always there no matter what because we’ve been together before.”

While Rainey recruits nationally, the coach said he was glad to get commitments from three native Iowans.

“Getting three people from the same high-school team, it wasn’t by design,” Rainey said. “But they’re good players. They’re in the state of Iowa, and we want the best Iowa players.”

Grimm, a two-time Iowa High School Player of the Year (2007 and 2009), has started all 10 matches for the Hawkeyes this season, taking five shots and contributing to the defense’s five total shutouts.

Lewis, an all-state selection twice in high school, has seen action as a reserve for Iowa so far. She recorded one assist and scored her first career goal against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sept. 13.

Spellerberg, a three-time first team all-state goalkeeper at Kennedy, made her first appearance in the goal during the Hawkeyes’ 3-0 shutout over Northern Iowa on Sept. 20.

Rainey has been impressed with each player’s willingness to help the team in whatever way possible.

“They’ve all filled roles this fall very, very well,” he said. “Jade and Kat have been playing a little bit more than Rachel, but Rachel has been pushing all of the other goalkeepers in practice to get better every day.”

Lewis said there is a “certain comfortability” in playing with her high-school teammates at the collegiate level.

After individually choosing to come to Iowa, Grimm, Lewis and Spellerberg all are glad their decisions have worked out. The three said they love being a part of a Hawkeye program that is on the rise and had its best start in program history this year at 7-2.

“We want to keep improving from year to year, individually and as a team,” Spellerberg said. “I think we’ll become stronger, and hopefully accomplish more things that have never been accomplished.”