WKU senior volleyball player Katie Howard was a standout player at Bowling Green’s Greenwood High School. She was a two-time Region 4 Kentucky Coaches Player of the Year as a Gator. In 2020, she led Greenwood to its fourth straight district championship.
After her high school career, all Howard had to do was look less than 10 miles down the road to find where she would dominate the court in college.
“As soon as (Head Coach) Travis (Hudson) got in contact with me I immediately stopped looking at other schools… not every day you have an amazing program like Western Volleyball in your backyard,” Howard said.
Howard is one of 18 current student-athletes at WKU who have continued their athletic career in their hometown. Of the homegrown talent, football has the most with six players. The other 12 are sprinkled throughout Hilltopper athletics: three from basketball, two from cross country, two from golf, two from track and field and one from each softball, volleyball and soccer.
WKU Athletics has been at the top of Conference USA since joining the league in 2014 where they have tallied 40 conference titles between regular season and postseason play. WKU volleyball leads the way with a total of 17 championships between both the regular season and the postseason.
With historically great programs like volleyball, some athletes had their minds set on coming to the Hill to continue their careers from a young age.
“When me and Travis talked and I had the opportunity I knew I couldn’t pass it up,” Howard said.
Being close to home weighed heavily on some of these student-athletes decision to play for WKU. WKU Track and Field’s sophomore Kennedy Coradini emphasized wanting to be a role model for her younger siblings.
Coradini attended South Warren High School where she competed in three events: discus, javelin and weight throw. Last season, Coradini set a personal record at the Music City Challenge in javelin where she threw 32.72m.
“I have two younger siblings and growing up and going through high school, looking back on it I feel like I would have done better if I had an older sibling to guide me through it,” Coradini said. “So I was really more concerned about my little sister knowing that she could have a role model if I stayed home and got her to at least high school would be ideal.”
Many student-athletes struggle to adjust to the intense conditioning and workload they deal with day-to-day. Being a Division I athlete can be physically and mentally taxing, so being around family and having a support system can be important for them.
According to a study conducted by the NCAA in 2017, 55% of student-athletes communicate with their parents or guardians once or more per day for support across a wide range of issues.
“It is really nice because I know if I need them then they are all of 10 minutes away […],” Coradini said. “I always have someone to go to.”
It can be crucial to have a support system when navigating collegiate sports. Whether it be teammates or family, the NCAA found many athletes keep in contact with their high school teammates and coaches, through a study conducted in 2017.
The NCAA study shows over 40% of athletes are still in close contact with their high school coaches.
“I know how much they love and support me but also when we travel I know they can’t make away games also but I know someone is always watching and somebody is going to be there to text me after the game and ask me how I am doing and that kind of stuff. To just being able to be here and be home it is just so nice to be able to come up to them after the game and to talk to them,” Howard said.
While some athletes initially choose to stay home and play their full collegiate careers at WKU, some athletes go elsewhere before ultimately coming back home to play for the Hilltoppers.
Cade Stinett, a junior guard for WKU Men’s Basketball, spent the first two years of his career at Centre College.
Stinnett was a standout at Greenwood High School where he surpassed 1,000 career points and was named 4th region Coaches Association player of the year his senior year in 2022. In his freshman and sophomore seasons at Centre College, he averaged more than 15 points.
After two successful years at Centre College, Stinnett knew he wanted to be a part of something special, which led him to transfer to WKU.
“My whole roots are in WKU,” Stinnett said.
When the Greenwood High School graduate had a chance to transfer back to his hometown this year, he said the decision was a “no-brainer.”
“I grew up around WKU basketball,” Stinnett said. “So my decision was pretty easy just because of how much I truly love this place and how I’m rooted in this place and I want to make an impact on something special here at WKU basketball.”
Sports Reporter Peyton Reid can be reached at [email protected].