By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
Noblesville senior multi-sport phenom Meredith Tippner can breathe a sigh of relief that a lot of high school seniors aren’t able to do this early. For the second straight year, the Millers will have a player on its roster headed to a Division I school to play college basketball. Last year, now-freshman Reagan Wilson became an Iowa State Cyclone. Tippner has committed to play collegiately at the University of Miami (Florida).
“There has definitely been a weight lifted having made my decision and so much excitement heading into my senior year,” said Tippner.
“I’m glad she was able to commit early. This will allow her to focus on her high school goals, which is to win more championships,” head coach Donna Buckley said.
There’s an extremely high possibility of a third straight soccer state championship. Tippner would also like to cap off her high school basketball career and help guide the Millers to another state crown on the hardwood.
“I have so much to look forward to this year. My goal every season is to win a state championship with a Noblesville jersey on,” stated Tippner. “Every team is different from the previous year and this year will have challenges like the teams before. The fun part of team sports is finding the formula to get the most out of each unique set of teammates.”
The 5-foot-10 guard has already had quite the decorated high school career and her senior year has just begun. She has been a starter on the 2022 and 2023 Class 3A girls soccer state championship teams and as a freshman was a starter for the 2022 Class 4A girls basketball state champion Millers. Last season, Tippner was the leading scorer and rebounder in helping get back to semi-state for the second time in three years.
Her latest soccer accolade is being named the 2023 girls soccer Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Indiana. She hopes to repeat this feat and also add a third consecutive girls soccer state title.
She is also one of the favorites to win Miss Soccer and Miss Basketball, so there is much more excitement to come in this senior year for Tippner.
After numerous college visits and offers that she received, her decision only became final in the last week.
“I knew Miami was a great fit a while ago, but I had a lot of really good options also,” said Tippner. “It wasn’t until about a week ago that both my head and heart were locked in with Miami and I knew that was where I wanted to be.”
Choosing a place where she’ll be spending the next four years is an extremely tough decision and it took quite a while to really narrow it down with many factors involved.
“I had a list of 15 different things that were the most important to me and spent many months having conversations with coaches and players, trying to find the best fit. There were more than a couple of schools that I could have called home, but I felt like Miami was just the best combination of those things most important to me,” Tippner stated.
Being that far away from home, there are certain things that make the University of Miami stick out more than others.
“The relationships with the coaching staff, the style of play and the opportunity that Miami has to play the best competition night in and night out were some of the biggest reasons for my decision,” continued Tippner.
Buckley couldn’t be more proud of Tippner’s college choice.
“I’m so excited for Tipp and so proud of her,” said Buckley. “She is going to love Miami. I have known Coach Collup for over 20 years. She’s an incredible coach and leader,” Buckley on the Hurricanes’ new head coach.
Head Coach Tricia Collup is in her first year at Miami after spending the last 16 seasons at the University of Toledo, where she was 353-169. Collup is originally from Bicknell, Indiana and a 1989 graduate of North Knox High School.
“Tipp and Coach Collup are going to do special things at Miami. They are perfect for each other – driven, competitive and incredibly good people who bring out the best in others,” Buckley said.
The burning question of why she chose basketball over soccer at the next level might surprise some, but not all.
“I love both sports, but at some point, I realized that I get more excited to work and be in the gym for hours every single day for basketball,” Tippner said.
“I know it takes everything and more to compete at a high level in our conference and sectional and know it will be no different in college. I was willing to make the necessary sacrifices when it comes to basketball. I love soccer too, and I plan to do whatever it takes to win another state championship for Noblesville before it’s time to hang up my cleats. But basketball is my greatest passion.” Tippner said.