The 2017 Springfield High School grad is, however, getting a much closer look at German culture now.

Rabb, who finished her prep basketball career with 1,729 career points, is currently playing her first year of women’s professional basketball with the Metropol Ladies Herne Recklinghausen basketball team in Recklinghausen, Germany.

“The league I play in is made up mostly of German players, and this is normal for second division Bundesliga,” Rabb said. “They have the resources to afford one to three import players from different countries that are considered the ‘pros’. I live in Herne but play for the club out of Recklinghausen. We play one day a week, either Saturday or Sunday.

“We have traveled to places like Hamburg or Chemnitz, which are farther opponents, but also closer to clubs like Bochum and Oberhausen. It is structured very similar to college basketball in the sense that preseason starts in August, September and you finish around the end of March but can go into April. My second division club is connected to a first division club, so it is helpful to have access to some of their resources.”

After Rabb’s high school career with the Springfield Tigers ended, the 5-foot-9 guard went on to play DII college basketball at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, obtaining her bachelor’s in sport management and business administration, with a minor in sociology. She transfered to the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) to finish out her last two years of eligibility while obtaining her Master of Business Administration and another bachelor’s in communication, her final year at Alaska coming in 2024.

In four years with Augustana in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), Rabb averaged 11.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and was the NSIC Freshman of the Year during the 2018-19 season.

Playing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) with the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves, she averaged 13.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg. She was also the GNAC Newcomer of the Year her first year with the Seawolves and a First Team All-GNAC player. She finished her final year of college basketball as an All-GNAC Honorable Mention.

Rabb, now 25 years old, has had a successful basketball career so far, but it hasn’t come without its setbacks. In 2019, she suffered a left meniscus and left ACL tear and then tore her right ACL in 2023.

But she hasn’t let those injuries stop her from continuing to pursue her love of basketball.

“I don’t feel upset about these serious injuries because every time it has happened I come out a better person with more mental fortitude and discipline for my lifestyle,” she said. “I have always been really appreciative of the opportunities basketball has brought into my life so I still have a strong appreciation and love for it. When that passion stops, then I will feel happy to move on to other ventures with my career. I really look forward to exerting myself in my other hobbies, but for now my body is needed for the job so I have to maintain my health always. I still have a drive to develop and the game usually rewards that.”

Rabb’s interest in continuing her basketball career professionally overseas started when playing for Augustana.

“I first became interested during my time at Augustana University but had no idea how to get into it,” Rabb said. “I was lucky enough when I transferred to UAA that my head coach, Ryan McCarthy, had done it, so he encouraged me to as well. My friends and family supported the idea, so I decided to got set up with an agent my coach knew and it has been one of the best things for me.

“For choosing Germany, I was open to anywhere, any country or continent. My agent was based on Germany, so that is where he had the best connections. This is something I didn’t know before getting into this basketball world overseas, but it really is all about the connections you have or your agent has.”

In her first game with Metropol Ladies Herne Recklinghausen, Rabb led her squad to a 71-59 win over Gruenberg on Sept. 29, 2024, with 19 points, nine rebounds, six steals and three assists. Through 13 games, she’s averaging 18.4 ppg, 6.7 rpb and 2.7 steals per game.

Rabb, who was born in Abilene, Texas, spent most of her time growing up in Springfield, competing in volleyball, basketball and track and field while also taking dance lessons in Lamberton, Minnesota. Thanks to her Southern Minnesota upbringing, Rabb’s move to Germany wasn’t a total culture shock.

“I was pretty excited to go to Germany given the heavy German population back home and myself being German as well,” she said. “I didn’t experience much culture shock and really felt welcomed where I live. The environment creates a curiosity for the culture and language, but the German people have been so kind that it doesn’t feel that different. I live in a city, but in my first week of being here I found similarities through how the city meets the countryside and how I still get to experience winter.”

While she hasn’t felt out of place in Germany, Rabb has had to make some changes, with her biggest coming on the court as a leader.

“With my team, there is an understanding of developing players,” she said. “I play with a couple teenagers and it has taught me to lead with mostly patience or encouragement just because I remember where I mentally was at when I made a mistake at 17, 18 years old.

“It is a nice change given my role at my last school as [a] team captain who had to be a tougher, vocal leader. I love being able to play with or against people from other countries because it just proves to me further the opportunities that this sport can give to me and others as well.”

As for her teammates, Rabb has fit in well with them. However, basketball has been a big priority for her so far, so she hasn’t been able to get out and travel too much with teammates outside of when with them for games.

“The team being local makes it hard to find a lot of time to hang out because they have jobs and school, but I was lucky enough to be rooming with a German player [Leonie Kambach] from the first division club and we do almost everything together,” Rabb said. “We enjoy doing things in the city, going to cafe’s, crafts, playing cards and she helps me practice my German. The best advice I got from an old teammate, Aislinn Duffy, was that basketball is important, but you have to have things outside of that world otherwise playing abroad can be hard.”

Rabb is continuing to gain an understanding and confidence playing professionally in different countries, and she is realizing how many different players have their own unique syle and way to approach the game of basketball along the way.

While Rabb brings her game to her new team, she is enjoying the freedom and experience it brings.

“It is a job at the end of the day, but one that gives me the freedom to explore a new place and explore myself in other ways as well,” Rabb said. “I would say the biggest challenge isn’t on the court but with my aspiration to know the language. I would say I have quite a bit of confidence surrounding my abilities and values, but this is a new skill that has pushed outside of [my] comfort zone in the best way. I am hoping to become fluent at the end of next season.”

As for how her Deutsch is coming along now?

“Ich sage mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut, aber ich übe mit Leonie jeden Tag, also wird es besser,” Rabb said.