Though the Franklin girls basketball team is gearing up for a big sectional showdown with rival Whiteland tonight, Emilie Hill still has one eye trained on the future.
On Monday evening, the Grizzly Cubs sophomore announced via social media that she has given a verbal commitment to play soccer at the University of Evansville beginning in 2019.
Hill’s mind was made up after her most recent visit to the campus over the weekend. She watched the Purple Aces’ men’s basketball team take on Southern Illinois and got a chance to check out more of the city, and it seemed like the right fit for her.
“I just felt like, after that visit, that that’s where I wanted to go, and I had a good enough feeling that that was the best fit for me,” Hill said.
Her coach at Franklin, David Young, wasn’t surprised to see Hill make her college choice this early.
“She came to me during the season and she was leaning toward Evansville,” he said. “It’s a little early, but once you find a place that you like, I think that decision makes your next two years a little easier.”
IUPUI and Indiana State also had been on Hill’s short list.
Hill was one of the top all-around players in Johnson County this past season, totaling 14 goals and 10 assists while playing just about every position on the field for the Grizzly Cubs.
Though she has primarily played defense with her club team, FC Pride, Hill is tentatively being projected as a center midfielder with the Purple Aces, and the versatility she has acquired while at Franklin has helped her become much more comfortable with that possibility.
“If you would have asked me before high school, I probably would have said I’m more comfortable at center back,” Hill said, “but playing center mid in high school the last two years has made me more comfortable with the ball.”
