Katie Baker, a WHB soccer standout from East Moriches, committed to Marywood College, a Division III school located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 

Katie has been playing soccer since she was a toddler, but her aspirations to play in college did not occur until recently. Katie said “I always wanted to play soccer in college. Soccer has always been a huge part of my life and I have been playing all throughout my childhood. I feel like sophomore year I really decided to become invested in this and it was something I really wanted to do.” 

According to Baker, Marywood is one of the first schools interested in her, which made her compare every other school to Marywood standards. The campus had a home-town feeling and Katies thinks that the campus is beautiful, and that the college has an excellent exercise-science program, which is what she is looking forward to learning more about. 

As Katie went through the recruiting process throughout junior and senior year, it came with ups and downs.  Baker says, “The recruiting process is definitely a process. It was a long and challenging journey trying to find the best school for me. It can definitely make you lose your confidence at times because of the lack of communication from coaches. It is important to push through and not lose faith and remind yourself how much you worked for this.” 

Baker says that her parents were always there for her and very reassuring through the tough process. Along with her parents, the environment of her club travel team inspired her. Most of the girls on her team were trying to get committed, so it pushed her to take the process seriously and to focus on getting better at her sport. 

Katie’s advice to underclassmen who are looking to go through the recruiting process is,  “Definitely don’t lose hope and be very patient. It is not an easy road but it is 100% worth it in the end. You will find the place you are meant to be, and everything will work out as it should.”

Katie is super excited for her new college lifestyle at Division III Marywood and we wish her luck.