Former Brookings Rangers standout Savannah Barber has always had the goal of playing college hockey. After playing a year at the junior level, Barber announced her commitment to Elmira College last month.

But her journey to get to the college level has been a long trip and it has her excited for not only the next stop in her career but where she could go moving forward.

Barber played three seasons with the Rangers, scoring 63 goals with 45 assists and 108 points. A two-time captain, Barber established herself as one of the top players in the state but also wanted to gain exposure to college programs.

“I think the biggest thing was that ever since I was little, I’ve always wanted to play college hockey,” Barber said. “But I really wanted to stay at home and finish my senior year at home.”

Barber’s decision led to a compromise. She played the first half of the season in Massachusetts and the second half of the season with the Rangers. Although she always had the dream of playing hockey at the next level, her time on the East Coast sparked a new fire as she saw a different style of play.

“It really got me excited about the play out there and how much faster the play was,” Barber said. “...It’s a lot of really quick, high-paced hockey. It’s not a knock on South Dakota at all because the girls programs are getting better and better as the years go on and the girls are getting better, but it really helped.”

Fresh off her experience on the East Coast, Barber joined the Rangers at the midway point of last season and scored 20 goals with 15 assists and 35 points in just 13 games. Barber went on to score three goals during the Rangers’ run to the state title and graduated from Brookings High School in 2023 but she wasn’t ready to decide where to attend college.

The uncertainty led her back east, where she played last season with the Middlesex Bears. A Tier 1 junior team in the Boston area, the program’s goal is to prepare players to play college hockey with a schedule modeled by the ones used at the Division I and Division III levels.

The bet paid off as Barber put up 44 points with 31 goals and 13 assists in 31 games with the Bears. Most importantly, she saw gains in her game and started to earn the attention of college programs thanks to her ability to process the open areas of the ice.

“A big thing one of my coaches taught me was to know where you were going with the puck before you get it,” Barber explained. “I’d like to think my mental game allowed me to make quick plays but my speed improved too, just going from game to game.”

Eventually, Barber caught the eyes of Greg Haney, who took over the Elmira program in 2023. While the program was appealing to Barber, so was the city of Elmira, which felt like home.

“It’s kind of a small town and it’s really similar to Brookings,” Barber said. “It kind of made me feel at home touring the campus and talking to [Coach Haney]. I talked to different coaches and toured different schools, but I just had that feeling and the hockey is just amazing.”

The Soaring Eagles have become a powerhouse at the Division III level since establishing the program in 2001-02, winning three national titles (2001-02, 2002-03, 2012-13) and 12 Frozen Four appearances including this season with Haney at the helm.

While Barber is excited to play with the Eagles next season, she also has a new goal to be an impact player when she arrives. By achieving that goal, it’s another stop in what’s been a long journey for Barber to play college hockey and could lead to another player coming out a South Dakota pipeline that is continuing to produce talent.

“I think my goal for my freshman year is just to try and work my butt off during the offseason and be able to play as much as I can right away,” Barber said. “I’m really pushing myself to work hard and make an impact next year.”