Unlike most seniors, Katie Sowerby already knows where she is going to spend the next four years. She recently committed to play basketball at Macalester College, a Division III school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Sowerby believes she will enjoy her college life both on and off the court.
“I found [a school with a] community I really liked, but at the same time I get to play basketball,” she said. As the starting point guard on the girls’ varsity basketball team for all four years of her high school career, Sowerby has developed an intense love for the game. “Thinking about not playing basketball, I just really couldn’t imagine it, which is part of the reason I chose to commit [to Macalester],” she said.
Tam coach Michael Evans is proud of Sowerby’s accomplishments and is optimistic about her future. “I am very happy and excited for her,” he said. “She has found a college to continue her desire and commitment to compete on the basketball court.”
Sowerby began the recruitment process during her junior year, in which she helped lead her team to its first ever MCAL championship. “Honestly, I wasn’t really sure I wanted to play basketball in college when I started my college search process,” she said. “But since it was DIII, I reached out to coaches my junior year.”
Sowerby attended a Princeton basketball camp over the summer, which was a major recruiting center for many DIII colleges. “That’s where I met the coach from Macalester. At that point we got to talk and there was a lot of mutual interest,” she said.
She received a competing offer from Haverford College in Pennsylvania, but decided after her first visit that Macalester was the perfect fit. “I went out for an official visit and that was an overnight with the team, and I stayed over with the team and watched them practice,” Sowerby said. “I did more research on the school and it had everything that I was looking at on paper…. so that was what compelled me to do the official visit.”
Sowerby has already bonded with her future teammates. She acknowledges that the college sports atmosphere is very different from Tam. “I spent a lot a time with the team at Tam, but we don’t live on the same campus so we aren’t as integrated,” she said. “Just being on the team and living in the same area and that level of connection with each other is a little nerve wracking for me.”
Evans is confident that Sowerby’s work ethic and passion will carry over to her success at Macalester. “She is a very hard worker and she puts in countless hours in the offseason….She plays with passion, confidence, and is a leader on the court,” he said.
Although basketball will be a major aspect of her college life, she still values her education. “I wanted to make sure… [to] prioritize my academics and I wanted to make sure that I found a college that could give me both [basketball and academics] and Macalester could do that,” Sowerby said.